Final Destination: The Last Transfer
by JunKing
Summary: The sequel to A Club to Die For, Death sets Its sights on a new group of victims headed to Salem for a college history trip. When someone sees that they will all be killed on the bus, he saves a few people. Death will return, but can they stop it in time?
1. The Night Before Next

Author's Note: This is a sequel to Final Destination: A Club to Die For. You should read that one first, otherwise, some characters might not make sense to you.

Chapter 1: The Night Before Next

"Hurry up!"

"We're almost there! Don't worry guys, everything's gonna be okay!" As Ethan reassured them, Erica and Kim held on to each other's hands. Kim stayed silent in prayer, hoping that God would answer it. As for Erica, even though they were almost there, something kept telling her that they would be too late.

"Please be alive…" Kim uttered her words with sadness. Ethan increased the speed of his car, causing Erica to let go of Kim's hand and clutch onto her seatbelt.

'This feels wrong…' She felt as if this had already happened before. In fact, she felt like this had happened multiple times before. They were nearing Peter's block now.

"Wait a second…" Something really wasn't right. "Ethan, doesn't this feel familiar to you?", she asked, her voice full of anxiety and fear. Ethan didn't reply. Instead, he and Kim yelled amongst themselves. It was like no one was hearing her anymore. Her head ached. At first it came slowly. But suddenly, the pain intensified.

"Argh!" The pain became unbearable now. Grabbing the sides of her head, she closed her eyes and screamed in pain. But then, everything stopped. The pain was gone and she could hear nothing. The movement she was feeling from Ethan's speeding vehicle ceased.

'Why did we stop..?' Slowly, she opened her eyes. To her surprise, Ethan and Kim were no longer with her. In fact, she wasn't even in the car with them anymore.

"What the fuck?!" No, she wasn't in the car anymore. She looked around to see that she was standing in a house. It was dark and depressing; the lights off and the window shades shut. The only light came from the sun outside. Small rays peered through the closed shades. It was almost like the light was begging to come in, but the owner of the house forbid any such comfort.

Erica recognized this house. It belonged to her ex-boyfriend, Peter. She heard a muffled cry. Looking over, she saw him standing in the kitchen.

"Peter?" Her voice seemed to echo supernaturally through the house. She received no response. That's when she realized what was happening. She knew that this time, she had to save him. She leaped forward, her footsteps sounding like thunder. Her breathing became the most dominant sound in the air. Her feet were becoming heavier with each step. It was almost as if a force was slowing her down, holding her back. But she was only feet away, she had to make it this time!

Pushing past the invisible weight, her strength returned as well as her determination.

"Peter!", she yelled once she ran into the kitchen. Suddenly, she started coughing. There was gas in the air, and extreme amounts of it. Peter's eyes were wide and his face was pale with fear. She saw that the gas was coming from the oven, which was sitting wide open. Something above the stove fell and turned it on.

'Not again.' Erica had seen this too many times before. A tear rolled down her cheek at the same time a tear rolled down Peter's. Reaching forward, she gently touched his arm, to which he did not seem to respond.

"I love you…", she said. Before anything else could be said, he exploded along with the rest of the house around her. Her scream seemed mute compared to the savage sound of the fiery death Peter had just experienced. Even though she too was engulfed in flames, she was still unharmed. She knew she wanted to get out of here. Looking around the inferno that she had been placed in, she now knew what it felt like to be in Hell.

She closed her eyes and screamed again. But when she opened them, she was back in the car with Ethan and Kim. The car sat on the side of the road.

"It's…over…", Ethan said. Kim whimpered with angst. Out the window, Erica could see Peter's house being torn apart in the manner that he had been just moments ago.

"Why is this happening?", she asked herself aloud. As if things couldn't get any worse, the sky began to darken.

"What's happening?" Erica realized that she didn't get any response. She turned around to see what Ethan and Kim were going to say. "Guys? AHHHHHHHHHH!!" Right before her eyes, Ethan and Kim began to deteriorate, the flesh peeling back from their bones like mere pages from a book. They didn't even scream. They just…died.

Erica panicked and tried to open her door in the backseat. But the door was jammed. No matter how hard she tried to get out, she was trapped. Erica always hated the feeling of being trapped. The sky was now pitched black, the only light coming from Peter's burning house. Kim's skeleton slumped over in the backseat next to her, the skull touching her leg as it fell over. She screamed even louder now, pounding against the window as she shut her eyes.

Suddenly, something crashed through her window, wrapping around her throat. She couldn't see anything but darkness. The grip tightened, choking the air right out of her lungs. She felt an evil presence with her, laughing at her struggle. It was toying with her, taking sick pleasure in her torture. Just as she felt like she could struggle no more, she then knew for sure that this is what it felt like to be in Hell…

A sound rang through her ears. She gasped and sat up in the darkness, realizing that she was in her bed. Clutching her throat to make sure nothing was there, she sighed with relief. She was just dreaming. Her phone was still ringing. After a deep breath, she picked it up and answered it. It was her college friend, Karin.

"Hey Erica. Sorry to wake you up."

"No, I'm actually very grateful you did."

"What's wrong?", asked Karin. Erica took another deep breath, trying to shake away the images from her nightmare.

"Nothing's wrong Karin. I just can't fucking sleep is all."

"Well, seeing as how insomnia is considered a disorder, I'd say that it counts as something being wrong. Why can't you sleep?"

Even though Karin was one of her best friends, Erica knew that she had to keep some level of personal privacy. She didn't want to worry anybody and she was always the type of person to handle things on her own. She had that nightmare before. In fact, it was the thirteenth time in a row. Erica quickly thought up an excuse.

"I don't know. I'm just really anxious about tomorrow.", she said. Technically, it was at least half true. Karin started giggling in excitement. Tomorrow, they were taking a bus trip to Salem, Massachusetts. The college they were attending in New York was hosting a 'History Trip'. It would give students a week away from their normal schedules; and since it was the week before spring break, many students wanted to get an early start on their vacation.

"It's going to be so much fun!", yelled Karin. Now, even though Erica appreciated the surprise phone call, she was still missing the point of it.

"Hey is anything up? Why did you call?"

"Ouch, Erica. But actually, I was going to tell you that I'm carpooling with Kim tomorrow to get to the bus station. Do you want to come with us?", Karin asked.

"Sure, why not? But hey, I should probably get some packing done since I can't sleep."

"You're not packed?! You are one risky bitch Erica, for real."

"Ha ha, Karin.", said Erica in a mocking voice. "Alright, well I'm going to go now. See you guys tomorrow." After Karin said her goodbye, Erica hung up the phone and wiped the sweat off her forehead. Something just wasn't right…

Suzi curled up in the thick, warm blanket. She was sleeping over her best friend Miguel's house, but his older brother just wouldn't shut up! His name was Anton but everybody called him Ace. That was due to the fact that he was the college's best basketball player in over two years. Tomorrow, they'd all be going on the same bus trip. They were all excited and nobody seemed to be able to sleep much.

Suzi sighed, the sound of Ace's laughter filling her ears. She was always so high-strung and hyper, but tonight, she just felt nervous. She hated heights and this bus trip meant that they would pass over a small mountainside in Massachusetts. Even though it was necessary to get to Salem, she was not looking forward to it.

Suzi was a native of Korea but had moved to America with her parents when she was just six years old. They moved to America to have a better life. Sometimes Suzi thought that the move brought on more bad than good. Shortly after the move, her parents got a divorce. Even though both her parents were still involved in her life, she missed the 'family' aspect of the whole thing.

Finally! There was a moment of silence. She closed her thin brown eyes and tossed her long black hair back over her shoulder. Her slender body moved slowly along with her breathing. But then, another laugh.

"What the hell?!" Suzi kicked off the blanket and peeked out the doorway. Looking to he rleft, she saw Ace hanging out with his girlfriend, Jordan. Miguel sat at the kitchen table by himself eating something while flipping through a book.

"Ace. Jordan. Do you mind keeping it down? It's late and I'm trying to sleep.", Suzi said. Miguel turned around to see his friend hanging halfway out the guest room.

"Sorry Suzi, we'll try. I told you that you would've slept better back at your house.", said Ace. Jordan smiled at her boyfriend's response. She was Middle Eastern, short, and had beautiful brown silky hair. Her light brown eyes almost looked gold in the light.

"Don't mess with her Ace. Sorry Suzi. I'd better be leaving anyways." Jordan stood up, grabbing her purse. She kissed her boyfriend before saying goodbye to everyone. Ace walked her to the front door to talk to her again.

"Sorry about that. Ace is always loud.", said his younger brother Miguel. Even thought he was younger than Ace, he acted older and more mature. In fact, Miguel was more mature than most of his peers. He was always studying and worrying about his grades. He was majoring in Technology and minoring in Advanced Sciences. Anybody could see that he was smart. He was black with faded hair, almost army style cut. He was of average height and he always wore baggy jeans with tank tops and button down shirts.

While he was smart, he was also tough. A black belt in three different styles of Martial Arts, people rarely stepped on his feet. And when they did, he used them to kick their asses back into silence. Suzi pouted, unable to sleep now. Miguel closed his book as she came over to sit with him. Practically plopping herself down, Suzi sighed before folding her arms on the table and resting her chin on her forearms. "This fuckin' sucks, yo."

"What? That you can't sleep?"

"That too. It's more about this whole heights thing.", Suzi said. Miguel started chuckling. Suzi was always so hyper, laughing and smiling, and now here she sat, quiet as a mouse.

"How did you even know that we were going to be going through mountains?", Miguel asked. Suzi pouted her tin lips, kind of like how they did in Anime cartoons.

"Jeanne told me. She has family over there and she's made this trip several times." After Suzi spoke, Miguel remembered the girl that she was referring to. Jeanne was that girl whose boyfriend just came out of the closet and dumped her. Surprisingly, he was going on this trip as well. The thought of Jeanne beating his ass on the bus seemed humorous.

Soon, Suzi started snoring on the table. Miguel could not believe it. That took all of two minutes for her to pass out like that. He suppressed his laughter as he watched her sleep. After a few seconds, he lifted her up into his arms and carried her back to the guest room. Suddenly, a cold breeze caressed his face, making him stop in his tracks.

Suzi's body suddenly felt like dead weight and the kitchen light began to flicker on and off. He looked all around for an open window or a fan. But nothing was out of place. Something felt wrong, he just didn't know what. A few more seconds passed by and everything returned to normal.

…

'What the fuck was that all about?', he thought to himself. Then again, it was late and maybe he was just overreacting. And his parents had just paid the electric bill. Probably just a short in the wiring. He'd have to fix that later. Once inside the room, Miguel laid Suzi down on the bed and covered her with the blanket. It was then that he heard a loud sound outside. The sound of tires screeching. And then, a loud crash.

Startled, he ran to the window and pulled the curtains back. But…there was nothing there. 'I could have sworn that I just heard an accident.' Again, a cold breeze traveled across the room. It was the same feeling as before. He didn't know what this feeling was but something told him that it definitely wasn't good.


	2. The Beginning

Chapter 2: The Beginning

"Get your bitch ass away from me Patrick. Before I fuckin' rip your dick off.", said Jeanne. She was of mixed descent. She was part French, part Native American, part Italian, hell, she was probably even part Mongolian. Her skin was pale and her eyes were stunning. They appeared green, brown, and sometimes gray. It all depended on how the light hit her. Most people that met her became infatuated with her beauty. Today, she wasn't going to allow any man to mislead her ever again.

Her ex-boyfriend, Patrick, had cheated on her. Normally, this would devastate most girls. But once Jeanne found out that he cheated on her with another guy, she just wanted to kill him.

"Jeanne, you're taking this whole thing very personal." Patrick was such an ignorant fool. How else was she supposed to take it? She was a strong girl, but hearing her ex say that, she almost decapitated him right there in the bus depot. Instead, she erupted with laughter.

"What a dumb ass bitch.", she said to her friend. Her friend's name was Rebecca. She was black with flawless skin and long black hair. They worked together at a restaurant back when they lived in Massachusetts. That was before they both transferred to their New York college and became roommates.

Rebecca laughed, nodding in agreement before giving Patrick the finger. They handed their bags to the luggage man before getting on the bus. Their friends John and Clarissa followed. Frustrated, Patrick took out a cigarette and decided to wait until the departure time.

Meanwhile, the other college passengers sat inside the depot. Some of them were snacking on foods or using the restrooms and such. The loudest group of students was the jocks. This was the norm, but yet many of the others still found it terribly annoying. Jocks always stuck together, but even though there were only three of them going on this field trip, they made enough noise for twenty people.

Their names were Anthony, Travis, and Kyle. Anthony and Travis played baseball at the college and Kyle played football. Out of the three, Anthony was the kindest. Although popular, he had a variety of friends. Often, he'd stand up for those that couldn't do it for themselves. He was a nice guy, but unfortunately, he wasn't all that bright. He was tall with brown hair and tan skin.

His friends, Travis and Kyle, were totally opposite of his personality. They were arrogant and mean-spirited. They were always making fun of people in order to look good. In fact, they were making fun of a student named Darryl. He had tripped over his untied shoelace and fell face first onto the ground. 'Assholes.', he thought to himself. All other thoughts were cut off when he heard a feminine voice speak to him.

"Don't let them get to you Darryl. They've just got nothing better to do." The voice came from a girl named Amber. She offered her classmate a hand with a smile on her face.

"Thanks Amber.", said Darryl as he stood back up. He blushed once she began to put him down and brush the dirt of his shirt. Secretly, he liked her. She was another transfer student, coming from her hometown in Pennsylvania. He knew it was called McKinley because she always used to wear a jacket with the name stitched on to her shoulder sleeve.

"There you go." Amber's voice was always so perky and happy sounding. Even though she always smiled, she struggled deeply within her own mind. After graduating her senior year of high school, two of her friends died. Her best friend, Julie Christensen, died along with her sister Wendy in a subway accident just months after the death of her other good friend, Perry. She could still feel the blood spray onto her face…

She tried to live a normal life back in McKinley, but after everything she had been through, seen, and heard about, she just knew she had to get out of that town. It was cursed as far as she was concerned.

"You getting on the bus yet?", asked Darryl. Tossing her bag over her shoulder, Amber nodded with a wink. The two of them walked outside just as Anthony did; Travis and Kyle traveling behind like they couldn't survive if separated.

A few tables away, Suzi and Miguel sat with Erica, Kim, Karin, Ace, and Jordan. Ace and Jordan made out a table away, causing Miguel to turn his chair so that he wouldn't see. If anything made him sick, it was watching his brother tongue kiss Jordan. Or watching him tongue kiss anyone for that matter. Kim and Karin sat taking pictures while Erica waited for someone. All of a sudden, her vision went dark and she could feel something over her eyes.

"Guess who?", said a voice behind her. Upon smelling his cologne and hearing his voice, she smiled.

"Lavi, why do you always do that?", she asked. Lavi chuckled, taking a seat next to her.

"Because it gives me an excuse to touch your beautiful face." Lavi was a very handsome guy. He was born in Bosnia but came to America when he was little. Erica could feel her heart skip a beat whenever she first looked into his eyes. It was always as if she had just seen them for the very first time, although that was not the case.

They weren't dating, but they were close to it. Erica met him in college. At the time, she was very troubled by the death of her ex-boyfriend, Peter. Lavi helped her through the pain and never once asked anything in return. He was a true friend to her. And just knowing that he was there made her feel comforted.

"Ugh, I don't like that picture!", Kim yelled. After deleting the picture, she handed the camera back over to Karin.

"Kim, you always look great.", Karin replied, playing with her blonde curls before putting the camera away. Kim laughed at her friend's facial expressions. Karin was always doing something funny. At one time, Kim used to be the one known for making everybody around her feel warm. That all changed when her friends died last year. She didn't even want to think about it. Not wanting to show any sadness, she continued to joke around with Karin. Erica and Lavi joined in the laughter with some jokes of their own. Suzi and Miguel on the other hand, stayed silent.

Suzi was still nervous about the heights thing and Miguel hadn't gotten much sleep. All throughout the night, he kept feeling cold breezes in his room. He figured it was the air conditioning system, but once he checked it out, nothing was wrong with it.

Along with most of the others, he was tired from this bus trip. They were in Connecticut waiting for their next transfer to Springfield, Massachusetts. Even though the first bus from New York to Connecticut hadn't taken all that long, everyone still anticipated getting to Salem.

"We've gotta go.", Suzi said. Miguel looked up from the table to see that she was right. The bus was getting ready for departure. As soon as they stood up, everybody else followed. Walking over to the door, Miguel held it open for his friends. Once everyone was outside, he stepped out into the night air. To his surprise, the same cold breeze he'd been feeling all last night returned. It carried a certain dark feeling with it. Erica stopped in her tracks. She felt it too. Shaking it off, she boarded the bus. Miguel wanted to believe it was just the wind, so he followed her.

Awhile later, the group was almost in Springfield. They would then get on their last transfer to their final destination, Salem. Miguel sat in his seat next to Suzi typing away on his laptop. He was looking up some information on superstitions, curses, and omens. He was shocked to find out just how much information there was about Salem. But then again, it was a town of witchcraft and trials centuries ago.

Feeling suddenly uncomfortable, he closed his laptop and looked out the window. 'We're almost there.', he thought to himself. The rest of the bus was filled with conversation among the various other students. Jeanne and her friends Clarissa and John continued to talk badly about Patrick, who seemed to be in his own world. Rebecca was tired of talking, so she listened to her iPod instead. Kim, Lavi, and Karin poked fun at Erica's apparent newly acquired motion sickness. Amber and Darryl talked about random things as they tried to block out the loud cheering of Anthony, Travis, and Kyle. And Jordan continued to sleep on Ace's shoulder.

"Miguel, I'm feeling really scared.", Suzi said with a shaky voice. Looking over, he could see that she wasn't lying. They were coming up to the bus station now and outside, he could see the mountain range.

"Don't worry Suzi, everything's going to be fine. If it helps, just don't look. I mean, that's what you did when we crossed over all those bridges.", he replied. Suzi swallowed hard before nodding in agreement. Maybe he was right. The bus finally pulled to a stop at the station.

A loud beeping sound was heard before the bus driver began to speak over the intercom. "Welcome to Springfield, Massachusetts. For those of you continuing on to Salem, your last transfer is over at gate 13." Anything else he said was blocked out in Miguel's mind. All that superstition stuff had him nervous now too. Suzi clutched onto his arm as they stood up. Erica took a deep breath and took another long sip from her water bottle. Amber was the first one off the bus, going with Darryl to pick out their bags under the bus compartments. Suzi nervously stepped off the bus with Miguel right behind her.

"Have a good night.", the bus driver said to him. For some reason, it startled him but he quickly caught himself and returned the statement before getting off. After he grabbed his bags, he headed down to gate 13. The new bus driver looked friendly, waving at each of the passengers. At the same time, he looked like he was in some sort of pain. He kept taking Tums tablets. Once he noticed Miguel's questioning glare, he said, "Heartburn. It's a killer."

Miguel nodded, handing his bags to the luggage man. Everybody began boarding the bus yelling and cheering in excitement. It wouldn't be long now. Suzi clutched onto his arm again and as soon as his brother Ace saw it, he spoke up.

"Suzi, you're still nervous? Take it easy, this is the end. You won't have to worry soon." Somehow, Ace's words made his younger brother feel uncomfortable. Only he wasn't sure why. One of the other drivers yelled from his bus, "You're taking Route 180 to get to Salem?"

The driver with heartburn nodded before waving him off as he got on the bus. Suzi and Miguel were the last to get on. Right before Miguel could get on, he suddenly felt like he shouldn't. Buy why? He wasn't sure. Looking up, he could see Erica looking down at him. It was like she was feeling what he was feeling. Once again shaking it off, he boarded the bus. As the doors closed, he felt as if he had just become a prisoner. He didn't know why, but deep down inside…he felt like he had just made a fatal mistake…


	3. The Last Transfer

Chapter 3: The Last Transfer

The bus began to drive towards the hill on the side of the mountain range. Suzi tried to follow Miguel's advice by closing her eyes until he told her it was clear. Lavi sorted through the small cooler in the back of the bus. Erica needed another bottle of water because she wasn't feeling too well. After finding one, he shoved the cooler back behind the seats and went to give the bottle to her. He passed Miguel, who was again typing on his laptop. He wanted to distract himself from this weird feeling he was having. 'We're almost there, chill out.', he thought.

"What's wrong Erica?", asked Kim. She could see that her friend seemed to be getting hotter by the minute. After a long sip from the water bottle, Erica shook her head. She didn't have an answer to that question. But she felt like something was wrong. The bus continued to ascend the mountain side. Anthony, Travis, and Kyle cheered loudly, trying to amp up the rest of the bus. Amber and Darryl could barely hear each other now. Jeanne and Clarissa continued to make fun of Patrick.

"Excuse me, but I have to take a piss.", he said as he got up. John tried to trip him as he walked to the bathroom in the back of the bus, causing Rebecca to roll her eyes and take off her iPod. She was sitting next to Jeanne the whole time, and she was starting to get tired of the constant bickering back and forth. She stood up and grabbed the metal handrail above her head for support. She was surprised when it came out of its slot. Nobody seemed to notice, so she put it back in place and opened the overhead compartment to find the book she brought along with her.

Ace and Jordan sat quietly together, but Ace could tell that something was bothering his younger brother. Back over in Erica's area, Karin got up to ask the bus driver for any kind of paper towels so that she could wipe the sweat off her friend's face. As she walked to the front, Anthony stood up and cheered, accidentally bumping into her.

"Ow!", she yelled, holding her chest.

"I'm sorry. Are you okay?", Anthony asked in concern. Travis and Kyle started cracking up and this made Karin think that they did that on purpose. She brushed past Anthony and continued on to the bus driver. The heartburn was getting worse as the driver continued. Suddenly, he realized that his chest starting heaving and his heartbeat intensified. This wasn't heartburn…no, he was having a heart attack.

"Excuse me sir, but would you happen to have any-" Karin's words were cut off once the driver slammed on the brakes. Anthony, who was still standing up, flew forward into Karin. Landing against the handle that opened the door, Karin screamed as she flew out of the bus and over the guardrail, falling to her death. At the same time, Anthony slammed through the windshield, landing on the road ahead before the bus ran him over, covering the pavement beneath with his blood and broken body parts.

Everybody screamed and held on to whatever they could as the bus slammed back and forth between the mountainside and the guardrail. The driver tried to hang on to his life, but he just couldn't. His vision faded to black in just a few seconds. Now dead, his foot leaned on to the gas pedal and the bus increased its speed, slamming into everything on the road.

Travis' head slammed into the window next to him before Kyle fell on him, crushing his head slightly. Trying to hang on to the seat in front of him, Kyle screamed in terror as he flew out of his seat and rolled up to the broken windshield. However, instead of falling out like his friend Anthony did, he landed on a shard of glass sticking out from the shattered windshield. It impaled him through the throat and protruded out from the back of his neck. Blood squirted out like ketchup from a squeeze bottle afterwards.

In the bathroom at the back of the bus, Patrick hung on to the sink for dear life. He was caught with his pants down and accidentally urinated all over the floor once the bus shook. After another bump, his face slammed into the mirror above the sink, shattering it. Unable to see with blood in his eyes, he slipped on his own urine and fell forward, snapping his jaw against the toilet seat. His dead body slid into the closed door with a thump as his jaw dangled from his face. Outside in the middle of the bus, John tried to hold on to Clarissa, who was slipping out of her seat. The lights flickered on and off before buzzing out. Another bump followed and Clarissa flew out of her seat, breaking John's arm before accidentally pulling him along to their deaths. Clarissa's back slammed into the metal on the bottom of a seat, breaking her spin and killing her before John rolled over her, accidentally twisting his neck with a cracking sound.

Jeanne screamed, holding on to her seat. Next to her, Rebecca's face hit the seat in front of her, the force of the impact breaking her nose. As blood poured down and over her lips, the metal handrail above her once again fell out of place and impaled her through the back of the head, killing her instantly. Looking over, Jeanne shrieked in terror. Not thinking, she tried to get away from Rebecca's corpse by standing up to jump into another seat. The overhead compartment on the opposite side of her opened up; luggage flying into her face. She was sent flying backwards over Rebecca's body and into the large glass window behind her. It cracked, but it didn't shatter.

Kim saw that Jeanne was about to die, so she reached over and tried to pull her away from the cracking glass window.

"Kim!!", Jeanne screamed with tears in her eyes.

"Give me your hand!! Now!!", Kim yelled in response. As soon as Jeanne reached for her hand, another bag flew into her face, pushing her back against the window with a thud. The glass shattered and Jeanne felt the wind from outside pull her outwards. However, Kim grabbed hold of her before she could fall out.

"Hang on!!", Kim yelled.

"Please, don't let me go!!", Jeanne cried. The bus slammed into the mountainside again, nearly hitting her head. Erica tried to hold Kim in her seat as they all shook again. Jeanne's long ponytail whipped out of the open window, getting caught between the mountainside and the side of the speeding bus. With a sickening ripping sound, her entire scalp tore off of her head.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!" Kim screamed so loud, her voiced pitched out. The once beautiful Jeanne was now dead, the top of her skull exposed with her blood spouting out of her like a broken water fountain. No longer being able to do anything for Jeanne, Kim let her body fly out the window, shutting her eyes as her body was mashed apart.

Darryl fell out with her body afterwards, causing Amber to scream. Blood landed on her face and immediately, she remembered the night where her friend Perry died. Falling halfway out of her seat, she screamed again as she looked to the back of the bus. The bathroom door had somehow ripped off its hinges and spun down the aisle, the edge of the door bashing her face in and killing her before pulling her body along out the windshield. Suzi looked up and screamed, shutting her eyes as she clutched onto Miguel.

"Kim! Get back!!", Erica yelled. It was too late. The bus slammed back into the guardrail and Kim flew to the other side of the bus. As fate would have it, she landed on the Emergency Exit door, her arm accidentally pulling down the handle before it ripped open. The door ripped off the bus as Kim fell out, violently slamming against the guardrail before falling over the edge to her death.

Erica screamed with tears in her eyes. The friend that she had known the longest was now dead. In her mind, she was hoping that this was another one of her nightmares. But somehow, she knew that this wasn't a dream. There was no more waking up, just eternal sleep. In the back of the bus, Jordan shrieked while holding onto Ace. Miguel and Suzi held each other down while back in the middle, Lavi and Erica did their best to stay alive.

"Oh my god…", Erica whispered. Lavi looked at her and followed her eyes to the open windshield in the front of the bus. There was a sharp turn coming up and unless the bus turned, they would be plummeting off the cliff. Miguel saw it too. Grabbing onto Suzi, he braced himself for what was about to happen. The bus smashed into the guardrail, going through it. Everybody screamed as they felt the bus begin to tip over. Just as they thought they were going to die, the bus stopped. The back of the bus was caught on the guardrail and it was dangling back and forth slightly. Everybody remained silent.

"Nobody move.", Miguel said. He knew that if anyone moved too sudden, the bus would fall off the edge. Ace breathed hard, trying his best to remain calm.

"Jordan. You okay?", he asked. There was no response. "Jordan?" Looking over, he saw his girlfriend slumping forward in her seat. The tray on the back of the seat in front of her had opened up when the bus hit the guardrail; she jerked forward and hit her throat on the edge of the tray, breaking her windpipe. She was dead.

"No…Jordan…", Ace started to say. Looking away, he cried in his hands. Besides himself, only Miguel, Erica, Suzi, and Lavi were still alive. Suzi whimpered on Miguel's shoulder, her eyes remaining closed.

"Erica…Lavi…we nedd to balance out the back of the bus here. The two of you need to move very slow…to the back. That way, the bus won't fall forwards…got it?", Miguel said. Erica swallowed hard, motioning for Lavi to go ahead. He did so, moving an inch at a time. Erica followed close behind. Ace could barely see with all the tears in his eyes. He heard something sliding. Looking over, he saw that it was Jordan's dead body beginning to fall out of her seat. He knew that if she fell, the bus could fly over the edge.

"Look out!!", he yelled. Just before Jordan's body fell into the aisle, he grabbed her by the wrist. However, instead of pulling her back up, her dead weight pulled them both out of the seat. Miguel yelled as he watched his brother fall down the bus towards Lavi and Erica.

"Move!!", Lavi yelled once he looked up and saw them falling his way. He jumped out of the way, as well as Erica. Ace screamed as he fell out of the bus alongside his dead girlfriend. The movement made the bus slide further over the edge. It felt like they were going to fall but another jerk shook the bus. The two back wheels were holding the bus in place, but barely.

"Fuck!", yelled Erica as she felt herself slipping. Lavi tried to reach for her, but it was too late. Erica slipped, falling towards the windshield when suddenly, something wrapped around her throat and stopped her descent. A bag strap that was dangling from one of the overhead compartments had wrapped tightly around her neck. She could feel the air being pulled from her lungs.

"Erica!!", Lavi yelled. He couldn't reach her because he could feel himself slipping as well. Erica choked, her face becoming redder than her hair, tears running down her face as she struggled to grab onto something around her. It wasn't working. The veins in her face bulged out, feeling as if they were about to pop.

'This is just like my nightmare.', she thought. That evil presence that was with her in her sleep was here now. Before her life ended, she finally realized what the dream meant. She had foreseen her own death, but this revelation, unfortunately, came a little too late. Lavi cursed out loud once he saw her stop moving.

'This can't be happening.', he thought. But it was happening, and there was nothing anyone could do to save them. Suzi whimpered at the back of the bus. Miguel looked over to see that she was bleeding. Something was sticking out the side of her stomach. He didn't know what it was but he knew he had to get her out of here.

"Suzi, hang in there. Lavi!! Hang on!", he yelled down the bus. Lavi grunted, trying to pull himself up on one of the seats. Somehow, the seat moved forward into a folded position, sending him falling to the front of the bus. He landed just under the windshield, where Kyle's body had been minutes before. Lavi thanked God that he didn't fall out. Before he could formulate another plan, he saw another problem headed his way. The cooler at the back of the bus from before opened, sending water and ice pouring down all over him. The ice cold feeling was nearly enough to send him into shock. However, it wasn't the water that would give him a shock.

Miguel's laptop fell out of the seat, down towards Lavi. "Shit!", he yelled. Rolling out of the way did nothing for him. The laptop smashed under the windshield next to him. The water mixed with the wires, sending a current of electricity through the wet floor, as well as Lavi. The poor young man jerked and convulsed with the electricity surging through his body. He could smell burnt flesh as the buzzing sound continued. Before he died, he realized that it was his own.

The bus shifted forwards again slightly, but did not fall. Only Miguel and an injured Suzi were left. "Suzi.", Miguel began, "Climb through the back door. We can still make it onto the road before this thing falls."

"I'm scared!", she cried. Miguel helped her move. "I'm scared too Suzi, but if you want to live, you have to move!"

Suzi did as she was told, moving as quick as she could towards the back door next to the bathroom. Putting her hand on the seat in front of her, she nearly fell. Unfortunately for Miguel, she accidentally kicked him and he went plummeting down the bus. Suzi screamed in fear and sadness once she felt him fall. He fell out of the bus and towards the ground below. Before he could fall any further, he grabbed hold of the mountainside.

…

Blood filled his mouth as he clung to the wall of rock. The rocky mountainside had cut down his stomach, a deep gash being the result. He was still alive, hearing Suzi's screams up over his head.

"S-Suzi!!", he managed to yell.

"Miguel?! Are you okay?!", she responded.

"I'm f-f-fine! Keep going! Open the door and g-get…out!!" He could feel his life slipping, but he had to stay alive long enough for Suzi to escape. He had to help her through this.

"O-Okay!", Suzi yelled. Miguel waited, twitching slightly as blood trickled down his legs. A moment of silence passed. And then another. Still, no response. Just the distant sounds of sirens coming down the road. Did Suzi die? Did she make it out? He could never know at this rate. It was getting harder to hold his weight up.

"Migeul! I got the door open! I'm climbing out now!!" Suzi's voice had never sounded so sweet. She was alive, and she was going to survive. Miguel smiled to himself. He had saved her. Suddenly, the bus gave way and collapsed down the mountainside.

"Miguel!!", he heard Suzi yell out to him from above. Even though she was okay, she couldn't do anything to save her friend. Miguel looked up, seeing that the bus was coming down right at him. There was no way he would survive this. His very last thought before the bus crashed into him, was that he should've stayed the fuck home…

All time stopped. The pain was gone. Miguel looked around to see that he was back in the bus, staring down the aisle at everybody. Ace, Suzi, Erica, Lavi, they were all alive. A sound behind him made him jump. Once he turned to see it, he saw that the bus doors were just being shut.

"What the fuck??", Miguel said. "None of that stuff happened yet…we're about to die…"


	4. Changing Fate

Chapter 4: Changing Fate

"Wait! Don't go anywhere! Open the doors!", Miguel yelled at the bus driver. Everybody stopped talking and looked at him to see what he was yelling about.

"Miguel?" His older brother Ace had never seen him so worked up before.

"Son, did you forget something inside?", asked the bus driver.

"Everybody get off the bus, this guy's gonna have a heart attack!", yelled Miguel. The driver gave him a questioning look. This kid had to be one of those paranoid kind.

"I'm fine to drive, son. It's just heartburn."

"No, no, no! You're gonna have a heart attack and we're all going to die on this bus! Let us off!", yelled Miguel. Erica and Kim exchanged brief glances before getting up out of their seats. This sounded a bit too familiar to them. Plus, it explained why Erica had been having so many nightmares and why she felt so sick. Amber looked at Miguel and right away, she was reminded of Wendy Christensen; yelling insanely seconds before people started dying. She got off without a second thought.

Once Erica, Kim, and Amber got off, Karin and Lavi looked at each other. They couldn't believe that they would just hear Miguel and jump off so quickly.

"I'm not going for this. They can catch the next bus when they calm down.", Karin said. She was concerned, but they were almost there and this seemed like something unreal. Lavi looked at Karin. He agreed with her, but he wanted to see if Erica was okay.

"I'll be right back. I'm just gonna go check on them.", he said before getting up. Karin sighed. 'Bullshit.', she thought.

"Hey, be quiet! You're gonna make me lose my job!", said the bus driver in annoyance. Miguel didn't care. If he drove this bus, his job would be the very least of his worries.

"Sir, you need to get off this bus and get help!", he yelled while tugging at the bus driver's arm. Frustrated, the driver shoved Miguel down the stairs. Once he hit the floor, Suzi yelled at the driver and got off to see if her friend was okay. Rebecca's jaw dropped once she saw Miguel get pushed out of the bus like that. Infuriated, she got up, pulling Jeanne along with her. "Fuck this shit, I'll catch the next bus."

Patrick somehow felt like he should follow Jeanne. Even thought they weren't dating anymore, he felt like he should go with her. John and Clarissa stayed seated; they were just glad that Miguel was off the bus. As soon as Patrick walked off, they started laughing. All hell was gonna break loose once Jeanne saw him follow her. They decided to stay and avoid the drama.

Ace started to get up when suddenly, Jordan started to vomit. She had gotten too nervous and she was paying for it. Quickly, she ran to the bathroom, Ace following her to hold her hair out of her face as she leaned over the toilet. Suzi and Rebecca helped Miguel stand up on his feet. He hit his head on the floor and now he was dizzy.

"They…have to…get off…", he said while stumbling. Erica heard him and saw that he was unable to continue trying to warn the others. She didn't know if this was what Ethan had told her about last year. He said that Peter acted like this when they went to that club. When he got people out, the club caught fire and killed everyone else inside. If this was like then, she had to help Miguel warn the others. Pushing past Lavi, she jumped back on the bus.

"He's not lying! Get off! Karin, let's go!", she yelled. Karin felt a little more serious now. Darryl wasn't sure what to do. He could see Amber yelling for him to get off. Making up his mind, he got up. Suddenly, he found that he couldn't get off because the jocks were blocking his way.

"She's just being a dumb bitch.", Travis said. Anthony got up in his face, yelling at him. "Don't ever call a girl a dumb bitch!" Travis got pissed off and pushed his friend. Anthony wouldn't have it. He punched him in the face, cursing before Kyle grabbed him and pulled him off the bus to break up the fight. Karin tried to move but Travis jumped in front of her to get off the bus. The driver slammed the doors shut to prevent the fight from continuing, trapping Travis, Karin, and the rest from getting off.

"Sit down!", yelled the driver.

"But sir, I have to-" Karin's words were cut off as the driver began to pull out. Too late. Travis gave Anthony the finger through the window as he sat back down. Karin sighed, walking back to her seat. She'd just have to meet up with everyone else once they took the next bus.

"No!", yelled Erica. Miguel realized that his brother was still on the bus. He tried to speak, but he stumbled forward and fell on the floor again.

"We're gonna sue that fuckin'driver!", yelled Rebecca as she tried to help him back up. Erica tried to run after the bus, but security came and stopped her before she could reach it. "Let me go!", she yelled. Kim and Lavi ran over to help her out. Miguel held the back of his head where he had hit it. He was starting to pass out.

"We need some ice!", yelled Jeanne. While everybody gathered around Miguel to help him and while Erica, Kim, and Lavi argued with the security guards, the bus continued to drive up the hill. Inside, the driver began to grip his chest. 'Oh my god…', he thought. 'The kid was right.'

Meanwhile, chaos ensued with the other passengers that had left the bus. Miguel felt another cold breeze touch his face before Suzi screamed. Everybody stopped arguing and spun around to see the bus beginning to crash. Sounds of terror and destruction filled the air as the accident progressed. Miguel was right, and now the people on the bus believed him. But it was all too little, too late. The last thing Miguel saw before losing consciousness, was the bus fall off the cliff, just like in his vision…


	5. The Night That Lasted Forever

Chapter 5: The Night That Lasted Forever

Silence…but then there were voices. "I don't understand…how did he know?"

"It wasn't just him. I felt it too. Besides, this isn't the first time this kind of thing has happened." Miguel recognized the last voice as being Erica's. He slowly opened his eyes to see that he was laying on a bench. Suzi had his head propped up on her legs. Around the room, he could see Erica, Kim, Lavi, Rebecca, Jeanne, and Patrick. At first, he was confused but then he realized that they were back in the bus depot.

"Hey, you're awake.", Suzi said once she felt him start to move. Everybody sat up, turning their attention to him.

"What happened?", he asked. Looking at everybody's faces, he could tell what happened. He was hoping that this had all just been a bad dream, but he knew now that it wasn't. Ace was dead, Jordan was dead…they were all dead.

"Ace…" It still hadn't fully hit him. Across from him, Erica and Kim held hands. Their tear-stained faces seemed to no longer carry emotion. Their friend Karin was dead and her memory seemed to haunt them. Miguel shook away his sadness. He noticed that people were missing. He faintly remembered Amber, Anthony, and Kyle getting off the bus too.

"Where did the others go?", he asked. Erica cleared her throat before replying, "They got on a bus back to New York a half hour ago."

"We were waiting for you to wake up so you could tell us if it's safe or not.", said Lavi. Miguel looked around at everybody. Were they serious?

"How am I supposed to know?"

…

Nobody replied. After a few more moments of silence, Jeanne spoke up, breaking it. "Well, I'm not taking another bus tonight. I called my parents. They live in the next town over and they're on their way right now. You guys are welcome to stay with us. They won't mind."

Miguel didn't know what to say. He was just so shocked at the night's events. He also didn't understand why he saw the premonition. Was he a freak? A part of him wanted all the answers but another part was too afraid to find out.

"I have to go back home. My parents need me." He thought about how his life was going to be now. With Ace dead, he'd never be the same again.

"I'm going with you.", said Suzi. She wasn't going to abandon her best friend. He needed her the most right now. Miguel sat up, rubbing the back of his head when two police officers showed up.

"Excuse me. Mr. Bernadin, we need to question you about what happened tonight. Come with us please." They motioned towards an empty search room. The thought of being interrogated right now made Miguel sick.

"Why are you questioning me now?", he asked.

"Sir, we just have to. It's our job to find out what caused the accident."

"I already said it. I was clear as fuck. So what. You're just questioning me because you think I did it? You figure since most everybody on the bus was white, that the 'nigger' had something to do with it??" Miguel was extremely angry at the situation. First everybody died and now they were going to make him relive the entire experience all over again.

"Sir, we've questioned everybody else already. You're the last one. And seeing as how you were the one making the claims, you are the key to our investigation."

Claims? Try truth. Miguel tried to calm down as best he could. The only way to make this whole process go faster was to just cooperate. He looked to Suzi. She nodded, knowing what he was thinking and feeling.

"Don't worry. As soon as it's over, we'll get tickets to go back home.", she said. After a deep breath, Miguel rose out of his seat and followed the police into the 'interrogation room'. He knew that he was going to hate this experience.

--

Jeanne tapped her foot against the hard floor. She couldn't stop thinking about John and Clarissa. If it wasn't for Rebecca pulling her off the bus, she would've been dead too. It took a lot for her to cry on most days. But today, she could barely stop. It had been another ten minutes and she wondered where her parents were.

"Everything is going to be fine, Jeanne.", said Rebecca. While she was upset too, she knew that Jeanne needed more comfort than she did. She rested her friend's head on her shoulder and let her cry. This night would without a doubt haunt them for the rest of their lives. A minute later, Jeanne's parents walked through the door. Their eyes searched around frantically for their daughter. Rebecca looked up and saw them. Once Jeanne saw that they were there, she leaped out of her chair and ran for them.

Tears flowed from their eyes as they held their daughter in their arms. Rebecca looked on for a bit before getting up to join them. Erica paced back and forth as Kim and Lavi sat close to her. Patrick averted his eyes from Jeanne's parents. He knew how much they must've hated him. As Jeanne hugged her parents, Suzi looked on for a few seconds before looking away. At first she didn't realize it but as she saw the family being all together, she suddenly felt jealous. Her eyes teared up slowly as she wished the same was true of her own family.

"Let's get going.", said Jeanne's mother. The tears slowed down once Jeanne let go.

"Hey mom, dad...it's okay for the others to stay with us for awhile, right?" Jeanne's parents couldn't refuse her. They nodded before her father spoke up.

"You guys coming along?", he asked. Everybody in the room shifted in their seats, including Patrick. He already knew that the invitation didn't include him. Suzi shook her head while giving thanks. She was going with Miguel back home in a bit. Rebecca nodded as she put her jacket back on. Kim and Lavi looked to Erica, knowing that the decision would most likely be her's to make. After looking to her friends, she turned back to Jeanne's parents.

"Do you think you could drop us off at a hotel? We're probably going home soon, we just need some time to think."

Jeanne's father understood her and agreed. After the group got their things together, they headed towards the exit. Before Erica left, she turned around to Suzi and gave her a small smile of assurance.

"I'll be calling you guys tomorrow okay?" With that, she gave Suzi a brief hug and walked out. As everybody was leaving, only Suzi and Patrick remained in their seats. Jeanne, who was about to leave, sighed and turned around.

"Are you coming, Patrick?", she said. Patrick was shocked that she showed any type of concern after everything that he had put her through. He nodded slowly before getting up to join her. "Thanks."

--

"I told you, I don't know how I knew it was going to happen. I just saw it and told everybody. Wouldn't you want to know?", said Miguel. For the past half hour, he'd been arguing with the two police officers. While they couldn't find proof of any criminal activity, they still found it strange.

They'd been thinking that he might've poisoned the bus driver or that it was just some horrible prank gone wrong. But Miguel had no criminal record of any kind. As far as the files showed, he was a model citizen.

"Okay Mr. Bernadin. We've finished our questioning. Sorry about your loss. And don't worry about the tickets, we've bought two for you and your friend.", said one of the officers. Miguel was shocked that they did this, but after all the personal questions, he figured it was the least they could do. "...Thank you." He rose from his seat and walked out of the room. Looking over, he saw Suzi waiting for him. Upon seeing each other, they walked forward and embraced each other. Suzi held her tears to a minimum. She knew that it was him who needed the comforting.

"Are you okay?", she asked. Miguel nodded slightly, keeping his saddness covered. He was never much of an emotional person. Minutes later, their bus pulled up out front. It was just for the two of them. The bus company felt it was the least they could do for the two young adults given the situation. Without any bags to carry, the two just got on the bus and sat together. Suzi seemed slightly nervous to be getting back on another bus tonight, but she stayed silent and trusted in her friend.

Miguel looked at his cell phone. His parents had called numerous times. Right now, he couldn't speak to them. He'd just have to face them later. He leaned his head against the window and thought about everything that had taken place. He was kind of nervous as well, but the odds of an encore performance were slim to none. While he didn't feel in danger like earlier, he still had an unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach. He didn't know if it was just his nerves or the shock of losing his only brother. Something however, told him that it was much worse.

--

"Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Adams. We appreciate it very much.", said Lavi as he stepped out of the van. Helping Kim and Erica out of the vehicle, Lavi waved goodbye as Jeanne and her parents drove off along with Rebecca and Patrick.

"Mom, I'm fine. We'll be coming home soon.", said Erica as she held her cell phone to her ear. Kim went ahead into the hotel as Erica finished up her conversation.

"I love you too." With that said, she hung up the phone and looked up at Lavi. They remained silent for a few moments before walking in together. Inside, Kim stood at the counter with her credit card in hand.

"Yeah, two rooms would be fine.", she said before Lavi stepped forward. Taking out cash, he motioned for Kim to put her credit card away.

"It's okay Kim. I'll take care of it.", he said. Kim put her card back in her wallet. She had never met a guy that was so generous. Looking to Erica, she smiled. If only Erica saw what she saw. Lavi really cared about her. That was rare seeing as how most guys only wanted the lower region of a girl. After everything was taken care of, the trio of friends took the elevator up to their rooms. Erica and Kim were going to share a room while Lavi's room was down the hall.

Being the gentleman that he was, Lavi walked the girls to their room first. He gave them both a hug before saying goodnight and walking off to his room. Kim noticed Erica had a lingering gaze following their friend. She knew how Erica felt and she knew that she was afraid to get fully involved. Tossing her long black ponytail over her shoulder, Kim decided to ignore it. She swiped her room key and sighed with relief once the door opened. The room had two beds, a t.v., a bathroom, and a small fridge by the table towards the back.

"It's kinda cold in here.", said Kim as she walked to the air conditioner to check the temperature level. Erica tried to ignore her feelings as best she could. Not only was she distraught over what happened earlier and the loss of Karin, she was fighting mixed feelings about Lavi. True before this night, she was content with just being friends. But now after the accident and her near death experience, she started to see that she wasn't taking advantage of life. She was living with the mindset that tomorrow is secretly guaranteed when in fact, it never is. Kim looked over and could tell that something else was bothering her. She knew that it had to be Lavi since her mood changed completely since he left the room.

"Why don't you go talk to him?", she suggested. Erica chuckled, trying to play innocent. Kim knew better. "I know that's what you're thinking about right now. Go and talk to him."

...

Erica didn't know what to say or do. She just looked at Kim and blushed. A few seconds passed by before she realized that her friend was right. "What about you?", she asked her friend. Kim shrugged her shoulders before dropping backwards onto her bed.

"Don't worry about me, I'm going to think about things and then I'm going to sleep."

"...well...okay. Thanks Kim." Kim waved goodbye as Erica opened the door and started to walk down the hallway towards Lavi's room. So many jumbled thoughts flew around in her head. Was tonight really the last of it? She wanted to believe it was, but deep down, she still had a feeling that something else was going to happen. She blocked out everything else as she knocked on Lavi's door. A few moments of silence passed by before he opened the door. He stood in a tank top and his boxers. Once he saw that it was Erica, he gasped and covered himself behind the door. Even though she felt pretty down, she chuckled slightly. Lavi was almost too innocent for words. This was it. No more holding back. After all, tomorrow was never guaranteed. With a deep breath, she stepped forward and locked her pink lips onto Lavi's. He sat dumbfounded for a second before he gave in to his feelings. Closing his eyes, he kissed her back. The kiss was amazing, the best he'd ever had in his life. That was because unlike some of the other kisses before, he dreamnt about this one for months. Then, almost as quick as it began, Erica stepped off her toes and looked up into his eyes.

"Is it okay if I stay with you tonight?", she asked. Barely giving it a second thought, Lavi nodded before she leaned back in for another passionate kiss. Sweeping her up into his arms, Lavi closed the door. Carefully, he layed her down on his bed before joining her. It felt so good to finally share their true feelings for one another. Their arms wrapped around each other, hands messaging at the other's neck. It was almost as if Lavi's body heat was warm enough to thaw the ice from Erica's heart. As they kissed, a tear rolled down her cheek. She missed feeling whole, feeling like a person with a purpose. But here now, as Lavi held her in his arms, she felt like she had nothing but purpose.

They sat up, removing the shirts from each other's backs. It was all done gently, proving that this wasn't some horny quest or a desperate one night stand. This was love. For a brief moment, they stared into each other's eyes. They knew what they wanted to say. Erica wanted to be the first to say it. She loved him and she'd loved him for awhile. She was just to afraid to admit it. She opened her mouth to speak those big three words...but found that her courage hit its limit. Lavi knew what she wanted to say because he wanted to say it too. Instead of forcing the words out, they decided to just show it to each other for now. Laying back down, the two became entangled in each other's hearts. It was a web that they no longer minded being caught in.

--

Hours later, Miguel stared out the window of the bus. They were home now, passing through the town they resided in. Miguel noted that reality started sinking in further and further the closer they got to his home. He looked around, seeing the places that Ace loved to hang out in. His eyes teared up as he could hear his brother laughing. It's funny. He always found his brother's laugh so annoying. But now that he was gone, he wanted nothing more than to hear it once more. But that wouldn't happen...no, never again would Ace laugh. Suzi exhaled as they pulled to a stop at the bus station in their neighorhood. They were both numb from what happened. Before getting up to leave the bus, they glanced at each other. Suzi gripped his hand as they mentally prepared for the pain of loss to fully set in. Miguel hugged her. He held tight onto her for a long time, as if by holding her longer, it would somehow prolong the reality of the situation from hitting him. But there was no escaping the truth and now was the time to believe it.

As soon as they stepped off the bus, they looked up to see their parents waiting anxiously for their safe arrival. Suzi saw her mother and father standing together for the first time in years. The sight made her happy as she ran forward to them with tears in her eyes. Miguel noticed his parents. Their dark skin was made even darker from the tear stains on their cheeks. This was it. Reality had finished sinking into him like the last piece fitting into a large puzzle. Only unlike a completed puzzle, there was no clear picture right now. There was only the pain that he'd been holding back for the past few hours. Unable to resist his tears any longer, Miguel sobbed into his parents' chests as they embraced him. From this point on, he knew that his life would never be the same.


	6. Car Wash

Chapter 6: Car Wash

Anthony sighed as he stepped out of the shower. Last night was unbelievably crazy. It was unreal, like a horrible nightmare that he was ready to awaken from. The fact that it wasn't a nightmare made it worse. As he dried himself off, Anthony tried to push away his guilt over the death of his friend Travis. If only they hadn't fought, he might've lived too. Then again, maybe not. He would never know. All he knew was that he was grateful to be alive. He was supposed to be meeting up with Kyle later on. They were going to help Travis' parents sort through some things. Back at the college, word had gotten around of the accident. But since spring break was going to start soon, everybody tried to ignore it.

After putting on some clothes, Anthony stepped out into the living room. His father was asleep on the couch as the baseball game on the television continued to play. The Yankees were losing against the Red Sox. He found it slightly weird that the Yankees were from New York and the Red Sox were from Massachusetts. Those were the two locations that they were at last night.

His thoughts were interrupted by his father's loud and sudden snoring. Resisting the urge to laugh, Anthony snuck out the front door quietly so as not to wake him. Once outside, he took out the keys to his red Mercedes-Benz. As he looked up, he noticed that the car was a bit dusty.

'I'll just spray it down later.', he thought. He got into his car and drove off. Before he showed up at Travis' parents' house, he wanted to eat something. Remembering that there was a McDonald's a few blocks away, he turned on his left signal before heading in that direction.

--

A ray of sunshine peered into Erica's eyelids, waking her up. She took a look around and saw that she was still in Lavi's room. His arm lay draped over her midsection as he snored lightly. Erica smiled, finding it cute. She exhaled, looking at the clock on the bedside table. It was almost noon and she wanted to call Miguel to talk about the situation from the night before. She moved carefully, taking Lavi's arm off her body before she reached for her clothing on the floor. After putting everything on, she took out her cell phone from the pocket of her jeans and looked up Miguel's number. Just before she dialed it, she leaned over and lightly kissed Lavi's forehead.

Miguel's premonition started to replay itself in his sleep again. 'Wake up!', he thought. The bus was just beginning to crash again. Karin flew out of the door…Anthony slammed through the wind shield…Suddenly, a loud sound woke him from his nightmare. Car Wash by Christina Aguilera and Missy Elliott blasted from his radio alarm clock. Startled, he reached over and turned it off. It was noon. He sighed, wiping the sweat off his forehead. Before he could think, another sound was heard. It was his cell phone. Picking it up, he heard the sound of Erica's voice.

"Hey Miguel."

"Hey, what's up?" He wondered if this call was going to end up being a pity conversation. He wasn't looking forward to it at all. They spoke about the basics; the 'how are you's and the 'do you need anything's. But before Miguel could say anything, Erica brought her point to light.

"Miguel, I believe what you saw."

"…You do?" He remembered that she was the only other person to actually warn the students on the bus besides him. It felt reassuring to know that somebody was on his side in this.

"This happened before. Last year, my psychology class went on this field trip to a night club. While they were there, my ex-boyfriend said that the club was going to catch fire and collapse. Everybody laughed at him. I mean, would you have believed him? Or would you have thought it was a prank?"

Miguel vaguely remembered the news report as he heard Erica speak. However, what she was saying to him now wasn't included in that report. Erica continued.

"Anyways, he flipped out, telling everybody to get out. Thinking it was a prank, he and a few others got kicked out. Seconds later, the club caught fire…and it collapsed, just like he said…" Her voice shook slightly as she spoke the last sentence.

"So…you think it happened again?", asked Miguel. He heard Erica sniffle before responding.

"You know…I was supposed to be there that night. But at the last minute, one of my co-workers needed me to fill in for her. If it wasn't for that, I would've been in that club that night…when I heard you freak out, I knew it was true. I knew you weren't joking. I felt a bad vibe days before we stepped foot on that bus. It wasn't until you warned us, that I realized what I was feeling. We were supposed to die that night."

Miguel swallowed hard as he heard Erica finish her statement. He still had a bad feeling, not as bad as last night, but he could feel it building up. "So…what happens now?"

Erica remembered everything that Ethan had told her last year. About how everybody died in the order they were meant to. About Flight 180…she was afraid it was all going to happen again. "I'm not sure. Until we come back, it's probably a good idea to not mention this conversation to anybody else." Miguel understood what she meant. He didn't want to worry people again. Even though Erica knew what would come next, she didn't want to tell Miguel over the phone. She wanted to tell him in person. She knew they had to get home soon.

"We'll be coming home soon. Until then, stay safe.", she said. Miguel nodded before the two exchanged goodbyes and hung up their phones. As he sat up in his bed, he had a feeling that something bad was about to happen.

--

Anthony walked out of McDonald's and headed for his car. He took out his cell phone to call Kyle and let him know that he was on his way. However, before he could even open the phone, he heard a sound. It was a sound of liquid hitting something. Looking up, he saw a pair of crows sitting above his car on a tree branch. Looking down, he saw that the birds had just released their wastes onto the front of his car.

"Aw, you fuckin' kidding me?", he said before getting angry. He took the cup in his hand and threw it up at the birds. They flew away just as the cup hit the branch and opened up, orange juice spilling down onto the hood of his car.

"Fuck!", he yelled. Pissed off, he put his cell phone back into his coat pocket and looked across the street. To his delight, he saw a car wash. 'Might as well clean it now.', he thought before getting in the car. A few seconds later, he pulled into the car wash garage and lowered his window so that he could talk to the owner.

"How's it going man? Your car looks pretty dirty."

"Yeah, it's pretty busted.", replied Anthony. He was secretly annoyed with the owner's comment. Of course the car looks dirty, why else would he be here?

"So a regular wash?"

"Yeah, put on the wax too." As Anthony finished speaking, the owner nodded.

"Just drive up to the rig right there and turn off the car. It'll be looking brand new once it's over."

'It IS brand new, asshole.', Anthony thought. Instead of arguing, he rolled up the window and did as he was told. Driving onto the rig, he turned the car off but not fully. He made it so that he could still listen to the radio. Headstrong by Trapt started playing as the car started to slowly move forward into the car wash. The owner walked past the lever that held up the two garage shutters. A week ago, it broke, so he had tied a rope around the lever and attached it to a pipe on the wall. Punching in the commands for the car wash, the water began to spray and the thick brushes started to swirl and spin all around Anthony's car. The owner turned and left to use the bathroom. He'd eaten something before and it wasn't agreeing with his stomach.

Inside the car wash, Anthony bobbed his head to the beat of the song. Outside, the two crows from before landed on the roof by the entrance and started picking at some seeds. Anthony looked around through the large glass window and didn't see the owner. Thinking nothing of it, he turned up the music and began to sing along with the radio.

Inside the bathroom, the owner washed his hands before reaching for the door knob. Something was wrong. He couldn't open it. It felt like the lock was stuck or that somebody was holding the door from the other side. He pushed and shoved and yelled but it wouldn't open.

"This is why I need Joey to be here on time!", he yelled in frustration, realizing that without his employee here, he wouldn't be able to get out of the bathroom. Meanwhile, Anthony's car stopped moving on the rig. He stopped singing and waited to see if it was going to move or not. Seconds passed and nothing happened. He was stuck in here. Beeping the horn, he waited for the owner to come out and help him, not knowing that he was stuck in the bathroom. On the roof, the crows kept picking at the seeds as well as the bricks underneath them. A brick on the edge started to jiggle loose as the crows kept poking at the seeds on top of it.

"Damn it, what the fuck?" yelled Anthony, unaware of any immediate danger. Back on the roof, the loose brick fell and hit the rope, cutting it and releasing the lever that held up the garage shutters. Without warning, the doors slammed shut, locking Anthony inside. He couldn't see anything, but the wash was still going. Not sure if the owner was pulling a bad prank, he beeped his horn again. Still, no response. Inside, the owner heard the horn and continued to kick at the locked bathroom door.

"I can't believe this shit!" Anthony was now starting to feel afraid. The loud sound of water blasting against his car didn't make anything better. He knew that he had to get out of here. Reaching for the door handle, he tried to open it when suddenly, all the doors locked. Confused, he tried to roll down the windows but they too were locked. The only thing left was the sunroof. Fumbling around in the dark, he pressed the button to open it. He sighed with relief as it opened up. Water splashed into the car, frustrating Anthony as he started to sit up to climb out.

"I'm so suing this asshole once I get out of this piece." The thought of getting enough money to get a new car made him smile inside. But soon, any kind of smile was gone as the water sizzled the electronics inside his car. The radio buzzed off and he heard a spark of some sort. Poking his head out of the top of the car, the sunroof started to close, unknown to him. He was surprised when he felt the window hit him in the back of the neck, pushing him forward and sandwiching his throat between the two ends of the sunroof. Choking, he reached around inside to try and open the sunroof again, but it was no use. He could feel the window still trying to shut even though his neck was jammed in between.

To make matters worse, the hot wax starting spraying into his face, burning it severely. His screamed were muffled with gargling sounds as the wax and water shot into his mouth. Once again, he beeped the car horn as it was the only thing he could reach inside the car. The owner still couldn't get out of the bathroom. Being choked, drowned, and burned in the face, Anthony struggled to get out. Suddenly, the two large brushes swung over the top of the car in opposite directions. The metal rods underneath the brushes pushed roughly against him. One brush pushed against the back of his neck. The other pushed up under his chin. With his head being pushed in opposite directions, it began to rip. Anthony let out his final scream as his throat began to tear open, blood squirting out. He resembled a PEZ dispenser for a moment before his head ripped off his shoulders, leaving his body to slump back into the front seat as blood hissed its way out of its decapitated form. His head rolled down the windshield, painting the glass red before it landed on the floor in front of one of the tires.

Kicking back in, the car moved again, no longer being stuck in the rig. Anthony's head got caught between the front tire and the ground. As if it was a melon, his head popped as the tire rolled over it, sending blood and brain matter all over the ground. Back in the bathroom, the door finally opened. Running out, the owner looked into the glass window and saw that the garage shutters had somehow closed. He jogged outside and raised the lever, holding it as he leaned into the car wash to apologize to Anthony.

"Man, I'm so sorry! The door got…" He looked at the bloody massacre inside. As the wash stopped, the owner let out a scream so loud, everybody across the street looked his way.

Miguel felt a pain at his neck. He reached up and massaged it, wondering why it suddenly hurt so much. Then he felt it. That icy breeze blew across his face again. It stopped him in his tracks, his blood turning cold. After it was gone, he suddenly felt like he should turn on the television. He didn't know why, but he just had to. As soon as his fingers touched the remote, the doorbell rang. 'Who's that?' he thought.

--

"Miguel? You home?" It was Suzi. Sighing, Miguel walked over to the door and opened it. Suzi stood in front of him, looking sweet and innocent as usual. She smiled slightly and grabbed his wrist.

"Let's go get some air.", she said. Miguel agreed, hoping that he would be able to feel better. The two left and got into Suzi's car, unknowingly missing the news report that revealed Anthony's tragic demise just minutes ago.


	7. No Place Like Home

Chapter 7: No Place Like Home

Suzi purchased her ice cream cone and sat down with Miguel. He looked dazed, barely paying attention to his surroundings. He kept hearing Ace's voice, when he spoke to Suzi last night. "Take it easy, this is the end. You won't have to worry soon." His brother's voice seemed to echo in his mind. Sighing, he took a sip of his strawberry smoothie before turning his attention back to Suzi.

"How are you feeling today?", she asked him. Mentally, Miguel found it to be a stupid question, but he knew that his friend only meant well. The only response he could give her was a shrug. He didn't know what to say. He then thought back to his conversation with Erica earlier. He knew he shouldn't bring it up to Suzi because he didn't want her to freak out. However, he did want to tell her about the weird feeling he was having before.

"Suzi, something weird happened today." Once she gave him eye contact, he continued. "I felt like something bad was going to happen. Who knows, maybe it already did."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, this is going to sound stupid, but it was the same feeling from last night. You see, it was almost like I knew something bad was going to happen. Things just didn't feel right. And then today, the same feeling came back."

"Are you sure you're just not still in shock? I mean, you went through a lot yesterday…we all did.", said Suzi. Miguel shook his head. He knew that it was something other than shock or post-traumatic stress. No, it was something far worse.

"I know how it sounds. But I know what I feel and it's not shock." He stopped there, not wanting to accidentally tell her what Erica said before. Suzi looked down at the table. She was wondering something since last night, she just didn't want to come out and say it. Since they were already on the topic, she figured that she'd ask now.

"Miguel…you said you saw everything before it happened…what was it like?"

"I'd rather not get into the specifics of it. All I can say is that it was horrible. Everyone died all around us before…never mind." Miguel continued to sip his beverage, trying to shake the images from his mind. Suzi took a deep breath. Noticing her anxiety, Miguel tried to cheer her up. "Don't worry. You were actually the only one who lived. You got out in time."

"…Really?", she asked. Miguel nodded.

"I guess it just wasn't your time." He watched as his friend silently let out a long exhale. She looked relieved and he was glad that she wasn't supposed to die.

"Come on.", she said, "Let's get you back home." As the two of them got up, they heard a sound.

"Shit!", yelled an employee as he dropped a glass pitcher full of juice. It shattered all over the floor in front of the counter, spilling everywhere. Miguel looked at the sight. He couldn't help but notice that the juice looked like blood. Turning around to follow Suzi, they left the shop.

--

Kim groaned in annoyance. She had put money into a vending machine to get a drink, but it ate her money and left her thirsty. She kicked it once, hoping that her drink would somehow fall out. She was met with no luck whatsoever. Annoyed, she turned around and sat back on the bench in the hotel lobby. She was waiting for Erica and Lavi because they were leaving today. Before heading back to the bus station, they were taking a cab back to Jeanne's house. They wanted to make sure she was okay.

"What's taking them so long?", Kim asked herself. Sighing, she leaned back against the wall and thought about everything that had happened the past two years. First, her friends die in horrible ways after the club accident last year, and now this bus accident had almost claimed her life. 'Thank God for Miguel'., she thought. Although she knew what Erica knew, she was secretly hoping that Death wouldn't come back this time. Like Erica, Kim would've died in the club last year.

A week before that club trip, her grandmother got sick and Kim went to stay with her in Florida. A few weeks later, her grandmother died. While she was sad, she was extremely shocked when she came back home to find out that most of her friends and classmates were dead. Then months later, her good friend and co-worker Peter was killed in a gas explosion inside his own house. She had actually witnessed that incident. She was driving with Ethan and Erica when she saw the explosion from a distance. Since then, she had changed.

Once eternally optimistic, she now was a bit jaded. She still did her best to build others up, but it was her mindset that had become less positive. As she looked out the window of the lobby, she couldn't wait to get back home. Looking to the sky, she wished she could be free of all this stress. How easy it would be if she could just fly away happily. To just get away from life itself. Her thoughts trailed off to her parents. She didn't really know much about them since they sent her from Vietnam when she was still young. All she remembered was that they were kind and loving. Her adoptive parents were loving as well, but it never stopped Kim from wondering about her original birth parents.

Her thoughts were cut off by the sight of their cab pulling up to the entrance. Almost as if on cue, Erica and Lavi stepped out of the elevator together. They were holding hands but let go once they saw Kim. Inside, Kim was laughing. She didn't know why they thought that they should be quiet about their new official relationship. It was obvious.

"Hey.", said Kim to her friends. Lavi stepped away from Erica for a second and approached the broken vending machine. "Don't bother.", said Kim. "It's busted."

"Come on you guys. Let's go.", said Erica as she opened the front door and walked out. Kim and Lavi followed close behind.

"So, why are we going to Jeanne's house?" Lavi didn't really know.

"I just want to see how they're all doing.", replied Erica. Kim exchanged a brief glance with her before getting into the yellow taxi. She knew that they were probably going to try and warm them about the possible oncoming danger. The three became silent as the car started to drive off. Deep down inside, they prayed for a safe trip.

--

"I'm sorry Mrs. Willards. I don't know why Anthony didn't show. His phone is off. I'll keep trying but don't worry, I'm sure he'll stop by later." Kyle did his best to reason his friend's absence today. Anthony knew that Travis' parents needed help but he never showed. Luckily, Kyle helped them as best he could but still, it bothered him that Anthony was suddenly nowhere to be found. He pondered these thoughts as he got into his car. He reversed out of the driveway and headed back towards his house. Getting curious again, he took out his cell phone and dialed Anthony's number one more time. Just as he expected, it went straight to voicemail again. Sighing, he decided to leave another message.

"Hey dude, it's Kyle again. I don't know what's going on and where you are, but call me back as soon as you get this. Call Travis' folks when you get a chance too, they were wondering where you were. Okay, well I hope everything's okay and I'll talk to you later. Peace." Something felt weird. It wasn't like Anthony to do something like this. He was always reliable. At this point, there was nothing Kyle could do. Stopping at a red light, he checked the spikes in his brown hair. He knew what would make him feel better. After taking out his phone again and dialing a number, he smiled once he heard his girlfriend's voice.

"Hey Carolyn. So listen, you off your period yet? Cuz I could really use some pussy tonight."

--

Amber smiled as she clicked around on her computer screen. In two days, there was going to be a fair at the local amusement park. She bought two tickets; one for her, the other for her friend. While it was true that she was afraid of amusement parks, she had to conquer her fear. However, one thing she knew for sure, was that she'd never get on another rollercoaster. Two years ago, her friends almost died on a rollercoaster named Devil's Flight. Her two friends got off before it crashed, but they died anyway over time. It was sad and creepy at the same time, especially since she almost got on the rollercoaster with them. She traded spots with another friend of hers who chickened out and got off the ride before her group was supposed to get on. Her friends Julie and Perry told her to go ahead and get on before them. If it wasn't for that, she would've been on the ride with them and probably would've died.

Before she started to get emotional again, she stopped thinking about the incident and picked up her cell phone. She dialed her new friend's number and waited. Once they answered, she giggled in excitement.

"Hey! I just bought the tickets!" She engaged in casual conversation. Even though the accident had occurred last night, she needed a distraction from all the depression. In just two days, she could forget all about her worries.

--

Elsewhere, Kyle arrived at his house. He always felt so comfortable in his own home. This was because since his parents both worked late hours and since his older brother was off in the army, he usually had freedom to do whatever he wanted. He could blast porn in the living room without being caught, he could have girls over at all times of the day, he could host parties and never have anyone find out. He called it 'the good life'. In a few hours, his girlfriend was coming over to sleep with him. Even though he was cheating on her, she didn't know. Or if she did, she didn't show it. He went from feeling down and depressed to on top of the world in just one phone call.

Tossing his keys on the table, he walked into the living room and turned on the television. The news was on and he figured he'd leave it to see if they would mention the bus accident from last night. He walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, looking for something to drink. Pulling out a pitcher of cherry koolaid, he placed it on the counter by the sink and took a clean glass out of the dishwasher. He took the glass with him and rested it on top of the fridge, next to his mother's new vase. After taking out a slice of cold pizza, he took the glass off the fridge and turned back to the counter. Suddenly, he heard something on the news that caught his attention.

"A gruesome accident took place earlier today at Joe's Car Wash on Deer Park Avenue. A young man was killed when he got trapped inside the car wash. Police are investigating the possibility of murder."

Kyle shook his head and began to pour the juice into the glass, looking up to see what else had happened. That avenue was just blocks away from his house.

"Although unsure of how this happened, police say that the young man was decapitated. There were signs of a struggle inside the car, it's possible he was trying to escape. Police are refusing to release the victim's name until the family has been notified."

That's when Kyle saw it. As the reporter interviewed the car wash owner, a red car could be seen in the background. The yellow crime scene tape blew in the wind as forensics investigated the area.

"Oh shit…", he said. He realized that it was Anthony's car…Now it all made sense. Why his phone was turned off, why he never called back, why he never showed up…he was dead. This whole time, he was dead. Shocked, he dropped the pitcher of juice to the floor. The sound of the glass shattering scared him. Eyes wide, he backed up into the fridge. He then heard another sound. Looking up, his mother's new vase had tipped over and fell off the fridge, hitting him in the face and breaking. He screamed in pain as blood leaked from his face, pieces of glass jammed into his forehead, nose, cheeks, and chin. He slipped in the giant puddle of juice and fell to the floor, landing on his back.

As soon as he hit the floor, he gasped in shock. His blood ran cold throughout his body. Looking down to his stomach, he saw that the broken base of the glass pitcher was protruding out from the right side of it. He had landed on it and accidentally impaled himself. The sharp glass was stained with his blood as the pain set in from his back and stomach. His head sank back down to the ground underneath him, his eyes beginning to close. As he took each breath, the glass ripped through his stomach further. The last thing he heard was the news report about Anthony's death. He knew a similar report would be made about him soon.


	8. Bittersweet Revenge

Chapter 8: Bittersweet Revenge

"Miguel, the funeral is next Saturday. I know things are difficult right now, you know you can talk to us.", said Miguel's father. His son nodded his head. At this point, there was nothing for him to say. His brother was dead and there was an empty chunk missing from his heart. Seeing that his son didn't want to talk, Miguel's father patted him on the back before walking out and shutting the door behind him.

Suzi had left a few minutes ago so now the real depression was coming out. Whenever around people, Miguel hid his feelings, even from his best friends. He was always a very private person even when he was just a little kid. As he sat there, he clutched onto the lucky shark tooth necklace that Ace had given him a few years back. He still remembered it like it was yesterday.

They were at a beach festival. Up on the pier, there were mini games that you could play. Miguel had used his last dollar to try and win the shark tooth necklace at the Bottle Smasher. He threw the last ball at the stack of bottles, attempting to knock them over. Having been overly anxious, he missed completely, nearly hitting the booth owner.

"Sorry kid, better luck next time.", said the man. Miguel's shoulders sunk low. He really wanted that necklace. Just as he went to turn around and go back to his parents, Ace showed up and bumped him aside. He paid for a game and started to throw the round spheres at the stack of bottles. On his second try, he hit them. The booth owner chuckled and gave Ace a thumbs up. Miguel rolled his eyes. 'Show-off.'

"Well son, what do you want?", asked the owner. Ace looked at Miguel and smiled, knowing that if he took the necklace, his little brother would probably stomp off in defeat. Not even giving it a second thought, Ace pointed to the shark tooth necklace. As the booth owner gave it to Ace, Miguel pouted and tears swelled up in his eyes. Ace always got what he wanted and mom and dad were always so proud of him. Turning around, he looked for his parents when suddenly, Ace put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey. This is for you.", he said as he placed the shark tooth necklace on his brother's shoulders. Miguel was shocked.

"R-Really? Why?", he asked.

"Because you're the best little brother in the world.", replied Ace. Miguel smiled and hugged him, thanking him for the gift.

"Anything for my little bro'."

Those words echoed in Miguel's head now as he sat on his bed. The thought of Ace being forever just a memory made him wish that he had died with him last night. But he didn't. For some strange reason that he didn't understand, someone or something wanted him to keep on living. Minutes went by and instead of pondering these things, Miguel grabbed his television remote and turned it on. Just then, a bolt of lightning lit up the darkening sky outside his window. The loud thunder that followed the strike made him jump; it sounded so close.

Just then, the television started to go haywire, flipping through random channels as if it had a mind of its own. Miguel caught his breath as it did so. Looking up, he heard screams before the television switched to a scene of a cloaked man shooting an arrow from his bow. It then switched to a scene of a girl yelling and running, looking over her shoulder. Then it switched to an image of a pig being roasted on a skewer with an apple in its mouth. After that, it switched to an image of a skull before fading into static.

Miguel tried to turn it off but it wasn't working. No matter how many times he pressed the power button, the television stayed on. The images began to repeat themselves in the same exact order before once again fading into static.

"Son of a bitch!", he yelled in frustration. Having had enough, he got up and unplugged the television from the wall, shutting it off. He sighed and sat back down. Closing his eyes, he did nothing but breathe in and out carefully. His breath hid inside his lungs once he felt a cold breeze brush across his face again. Opening his eyes, he looked to the window to see if it was open. It was closed and locked tight. Another bolt of lightning startled him before rain began falling from the sky. It was as if nature was crying along with him. The only difference was that his tears weren't visible or even physical for that matter. Suddenly, he didn't feel like he was alone in his room anymore…

--

"Hey Ron! What about Jeanne, can she get a temporary position too?"

"No problem. You two were my hardest workers back when you lived here. You tell her she's welcome back anytime Rebecca!", shouted Ron from the back room.

"Thanks! We'll see you tomorrow then!" Rebecca smiled to herself as she walked out of the restaurant. Last year, Jeanne and herself worked at this restaurant before transferring to New York for college. In fact, they worked there all throughout high school. During their time working there, they had become good friends with Ron, who was their boss. After Rebecca explained the situation about what happened last night, he didn't have a problem with giving them temporary jobs. The truth was, he needed them more than they needed him. Of course Rebecca knew he'd never admit it, but deep down inside, she knew the truth.

Rebecca didn't get along with her parents. That's why she left for New York in the first place. The only time her parents talked to her was when they needed her money. Other than that, they'd never talk to her or call her. Not even a letter arrived for her. She didn't tell her parents what happened last night. In fact, they didn't even know she was here in Massachusetts. And this is how she wanted to keep it. Getting into her car, she checked her appearance in the rear view mirror. Her black skin was usually radiant, but after everything that happened, she noticed that her glow was gone. Taking her dark brown hair out of its ponytail, she sighed and started the car. She knew that Jeanne would be happy about the job, but she also worried about any kind of fight happening between her and Patrick. She knew that Jeanne was still pissed at him and she had a feeling that a fight between the two was exactly what was going to happen.

--

The cab came to a stop in front of Jeanne's house. Lavi paid the driver and opened the door, helping Erica and Kim out of the vehicle. The three stood still as the taxi drove off down the street, leaving them on their own. Kim looked to Erica, wondering what she had planned to do. She was afraid that Erica would scare Jeanne and the rest and end up doing more damage than doing any good. But inside, she trusted her. Lavi noticed the two girls hesitating.

"What's wrong?", he asked them. Kim and Erica quickly regained their composure.

"It's nothing. We're just thinking of what to say to Jeanne. Clarissa and John died last night remember? They were two of her best friends.", said Erica. Even though what she had said was a half truth, a rush of emotions came over her from out of nowhere. Memories of Karin flooded her mind. Her best friend was dead, and now that Erica had acknowledged it, her sadness was beginning to get the best of her. Shaking the tears from her eyes, she knew that she had to be strong for the others. She didn't have time to break down.

"Let's go.", she said. Kim took a deep breath and followed her, Lavi doing the same. Inside, Jeanne was watching Law & Order. Patrick sat on the love seat across the room, silence being the only option for him. Jeanne's father stood in the kitchen, cutting vegetables for dinner. He glared at Patrick in the corner of his eye. In his living room sat the boyfriend that hurt his daughter so much. He wanted nothing more than to take the knife in his hand and throw it at the guy. But for his daughter's sake, he went along with her kind façade.

Jeanne's mother stayed in her bedroom. She was a tough woman who'd been through a lot as a child. She too wanted to kill Patrick for hurting her daughter. The only thing that stood between Patrick and her wrath was her bedroom door. Jeanne's three sisters walked around, trying to carry on casual conversation with each other to keep the peace in the air. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Jeanne tilted her head back from the couch and looked down the hall. She saw that it was Erica, Kim, and Lavi.

"I got it!", she said as she got off the couch and headed down the hall to the front door. She opened the door and smiled, motioning for the three visitors to come in. After exchanging greetings, they all walked down the hall and back into the living room. Everybody shook hands with the three, knowing that they were also on the bus that crashed last night. They tried to be as sympathetic as they could without being rude.

"So how are you feeling?", Erica asked Jeanne. Kim and Lavi took a seat on the couch across from Patrick as Jeanne looked around at her family members. Sensing that she wanted to talk alone, they all separated throughout the house. Turning back to Erica, she motioned for her to sit down next to her. The air was silent for a second and everybody felt a little uncomfortable. After collecting her thoughts, Jeanne spoke.

"I'm doing okay, I guess. It's not everyday your best friends are killed right?" She tried to pass it off as a joke, but nobody found it funny. Sensing the awkward tension, she looked down and continued. "I don't know…I just feel like it's not real, you know? Like I'm still waiting to wake up and find out that this is all just some bad dream…but I know it's not."

Erica put her hand on Jeanne's and squeezed slightly. She knew how Jeanne felt. She'd been dealing with these feelings ever since last year. She wanted to tell Jeanne that it gets better, that these feelings go away over time. But she knew that if she told her that, she'd be lying. It never gets better. You just become numb to it all. "It's okay. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." Erica held her pain inside. Just like before, she had to keep being strong for everybody else.

Kim sighed and looked at the television. In the slight reflection in the glass, she saw that Patrick was looking at Lavi. Slowly, she nudged Lavi with her knee and made a small finger signal towards him. Lavi looked from Kim to Patrick, seeing what she was talking about. He made eye contact with him and noticed how he averted his gaze as quickly as they met. Lavi never had a problem with gay people, he just didn't like when he was being watched.

He brushed it off and turned back to Jeanne, hearing what she had to say. A few seconds later, he felt like he was being watched again. Sure enough, once he turned back, Patrick looked away again. This was starting to get very uncomfortable.

"Listen. The only way to get through all this is to help each other. We have to look out for one another." Erica spoke with determination in her voice. Kim knew what she meant. While Jeanne thought she was talking about friendship and comfort, Kim knew that she was talking about life and death. Erica took out her cell phone and handed it to Jeanne.

"Let's exchange numbers. We can keep in touch and help each other out. If ever you feel weird, or if you feel like something's wrong, you call me. Okay?" Jeanne nodded at Erica's statement, taking the phone and saving her number into it. After they finished swapping numbers, Erica handed her phone to Patrick. "You too."

Both Patrick and Jeanne looked shocked. Why would she care about him at all? After a moment of hesitation, they switched phones and saved each other's numbers. Lavi noticed that he felt slightly jealous that Erica gave her number to another guy. But given the circumstance and Patrick's orientation, he let it go. Just as the room went silent again, the sound of a car pulling up outside was heard. A few seconds later, Rebecca came through the front door.

"Jeanne, I got us our jobs back at-" She came in and saw everybody else around and smiled slightly. "Hey y'all. Everything okay?"

"Yeah we're fine. We just wanted to see how you guys were doing.", said Kim as she walked over and hugged her. Although they weren't close friends, Rebecca and Kim were in most of the same classes. As they talked, Erica and Jeanne gave each other a hug.

"Where are you guys going?", asked Jeanne.

"We're going to the bus station. We gotta get back home to our families.", said Lavi. Jeanne nodded before asking if they needed a ride.

"I can take you guys.", said Rebecca. Erica, Kim, and Lavi said their goodbyes before following Rebecca out the door to the car she was using. As Lavi got up and walked out, Patrick stared at his ass. Jeanne looked over and caught him doing this. It was then and there that her anger took over.

"Oh you know, you're such a fucking pig!", she yelled. Everybody turned around at the comment. Rebecca sighed. She knew it was only a matter of time before this happened. This was going to be a bad fight and she didn't want to be around to witness it.

"Come on you guys, let's go.", she said. Following Rebecca's advice, the three friends left and closed the door behind them. They got into the car and drove off as quickly as they could.

"What was that all about?", asked Lavi.

"It's a long story.", replied Rebecca.

--

Miguel sat in his room. Thunder and lightning continued to dominate the atmosphere outside. He still felt weird. It had been over a half hour since the thunderstorm began, but that icy feeling still remained with him. To make things worse, the power had gone out in his house. He couldn't use the phone, watch the television, or get on his laptop. Something didn't feel right. He picked up his cell phone and dialed Erica's number. Hopefully, he could get a signal and talk to her.

--

Kim listened as Rebecca explained Jeanne and Patrick's relationship. She told her how Patrick cheated on her with a guy and how it was a total slap in the face. She told her how much Jeanne's family hated him because of what he did. She explained how Jeanne was sick and depressed for days, barely eating or doing anything at all. Kim shook her head in disgust. "Men."

"Excuse me, but not all men are d-bags. I wouldn't do anything like that to a girl.", said Lavi in defense. All the girls chuckled at how serious he sounded.

"Yeah well Patrick is a grade-A jerk. He always acts like he's better than people just because his parents are rich. Dumb ass." Rebecca spoke in annoyance.

"That's dangerous. He could've given her some kind of disease. Whenever you sleep around like that, you never really know what you're getting into.", said Kim.

"Yeah. Patrick is a real pain in the ass.", replied Rebecca. She wondered what she was going to come home to.

--

"Are you fucking kidding me?! What do you mean I'm a bitch?!", Jeanne yelled at Patrick. Her family came into the living room and practically ganged up on him, yelling various insults and threats. Jeanne told everyone to go away and that she needed to handle this on her own. Her sisters understood her and tried to calm their parents down. Jeanne had to fight this battle on her own. Patrick seemed to have an uncaring attitude.

Becoming enraged, Jeanne picked up an apple from the kitchen table and threw it at him. He caught it in his hand and took a bite of it, smugly. Knowing that he was probably going to get hit, he opened the door to the basement and went in, slamming the door behind him.

"Get your shit together, asshole! You're getting the fuck outta here right now!!", yelled Jeanne's mother. After telling everyone to stay put, Jeanne opened the door and followed him down the stairs to the basement.

"Just what the fuck is your problem?", she asked as she tried to stay calm. Along the walls were various hunting weapons that her father used for display. She wanted to take one off the wall and use it on her ex-boyfriend.

"I don't appreciate you coming at me like that, Jeanne.", said Patrick. "You embarrassed me for no reason."

"No reason. No reason?? That's a joke and you know it. You come here to my house and after everything you put me through, you have the audacity to be checking guys out here? Right in front of me?"

"I didn't mean to do it, really I didn't" Patrick couldn't even look her in the eyes anymore. Instead, he leaned against a large wooden cabinet, nearly knocking it over. The entire basement was cluttered with various furniture, it was hard to not trip over something. Jeanne calmed herself down.

"Why did you do it Patrick? Why did you cheat on me?" She pondered this question more than she'd ever admit out loud. She crossed her arms and waited for an answer.

"Honestly, you were always so into school and studying. It turned me off. I met this guy and I dunno, we just kinda hit it off.", he said. Jeanne's jaw dropped.

"Because I was always studying?!"

Patrick stayed silent. He didn't know what else to say. The truth was, he was never really into her in the first place. He used her as a test to see if he was gay or straight. He pretended to be a nice guy; something he was not. He had taken many things from Jeanne, including her virginity. Now it was too late to get those things back and this killed her. Just then, a gust of wind blew past her, but she didn't pay it any mind. Her eyes swelled up with tears as she began to yell again.

"Fine. So if you wanted to take it up the ass, you should've picked another bitch to screw up!" Patrick showed minimal reaction to her words. He just bit down on his apple and stared at her. Suddenly, a stack of plates fell off a table next to him and shattered. He back up and bumped into the large wooden cabinet behind him, accidentally knocking it over. He fell to the floor on his stomach as the cabinet fell over and crashed into a stack of boxes. In a crazy domino effect, the boxes fell over and hit a flag pole that was leaning against them. The sharp end of the flag pole fell towards Jeanne's face.

"Shit!!", she yelled as she dodged out of the way into the stairwell. The flag pole hit the wall behind where she had been standing and knocked over a fishing rod. As the rod fell, the hook snatched onto the string of a large crossbow that had been hanging on the wall next to it. Without warning, the crossbow fell to the floor and released the long metal arrow from its bow. Silence filled the air once everything had stopped falling. Jeanne stood up and looked to where Patrick had fallen. He was underneath the wooden cabinet. She saw his leg flailing around wildly underneath before slowly ceasing to move. Shoving the cabinet off him, she saw a disturbing outcome.

The arrow from the crossbow had plunged itself into Patrick's anus. Blood trickled out from it as his lifeless body laid there; the apple he had been eating sat lodged in his mouth as if he were a pig about to be cooked. The arrow had definitely killed him quickly. It sat halfway through his body, piercing his internal organs and tearing through his stomach completely. Blood seeped out of his mouth as Jeanne screamed and ran away up the stairs. As she ran, she looked over her shoulder, afraid of anything similar happening to her. Her parents burst through the door and asked what happened. She just kept screaming, running past them trying to get away from the basement as fast as she could.

Jeanne's father ran down the stairs and took in the gruesome image of what happened to Patrick. "Holy shit!!", he yelled as he looked away in disgust.

"What happened?!", yelled Jeanne's mother. Unable to tell her, Jeanne ran into the bathroom, collapsed onto the toilet, and vomited. She had never seen something so disgusting before. She had gotten her revenge without having to lift a finger, but now she regretted ever wanting Patrick to die.

--

Miguel felt sicker now. He had been trying to call Erica over and over and still no answer. He prayed to God that nothing bad had happened to her. Meanwhile, Erica, Lavi, and Kim sat on their bus back to New York. They were on their way home. Before getting on, Erica had also gotten Rebecca's number. She knew a time might be coming soon when she'd have to call Jeanne, Patrick, and Rebecca to warn them about Death, but right now, she wasn't sure. She'd have to talk to Miguel and find out more about what he saw.

'I should call him.', she thought. Kim and Lavi stayed silent in their seats. They were afraid that the bus might crash, just like the one they were on last night. Erica took out her phone and opened it. She was shocked to see that she had several missed calls from him.

'What? I never heard my phone ring…', she thought. Getting a little worried, she dialed his number and prayed that he would pick up. After the first ring, he did. Erica sighed with relief. "Hey is everything okay?", she asked.

"Well, I'm not sure. I just feel like something weird is happening to me.", he replied.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, every now and then, I got this cold feeling. It's like something bad is about to happen but then nothing does." Miguel sounded slightly afraid. Erica didn't like the sound of what he was telling her. What if things were already about to start?

"Miguel, just stay calm. We're on our way home now. First thing in the morning, would it be okay to meet up.", she asked.

"Sure, call me in the morning and let me know."

Erica nodded and agreed. The two said goodbye shortly afterwards. Lavi and Kim looked at her. Doing her best to look like nothing was bothering her, she smiled and started talking about normal things. Back in New York, Miguel couldn't help but feel like somehow, he was already too late for something. For what, he didn't know. But something told him to stay alert from now on. Another bolt of lightning lit up his dark room.

"I hope we'll be alright."


	9. What's Cooking?

Chapter 9: What's Cooking?

Miguel checked his watch. It was almost eleven in the morning. He was supposed to meet up with Erica at a nearby café. He was already there waiting for her. His thoughts swirled around his head like fish in a tank. Hopefully, Erica would be able to answer some of his troubling questions and put his mind at ease. With only two minutes to go until it was eleven o' clock, he wondered if she was going to be late or something. He took a sip of his coffee and looked at the nearby fireplace. The flames were soothing to watch. Again, he let his thoughts wander.

"Hey.", said a familiar voice. He looked up and saw that Erica had arrived, exactly at eleven. She took a seat opposite his and looked around to make sure no one else was listening. "So what was it that you've been feeling lately?"

"I was hoping you could tell me…but it feels like I'm not alone when I know I am. I'll be in my room and all of a sudden, it'll get cold and I feel like something is there. I don't know, maybe it's just me.", said Miguel as he looked to the table, embarrassed. Erica felt slightly nervous once she heard his description. It was similar to hers. She knew right then that she had to tell him about everything she knew.

"Miguel this is going to sound crazy, but I need you to just try and hear me out okay?" She looked him in his eyes, never looking away not even for a second. Miguel knew that whatever it was that she was about to say, it was very serious. He nodded and motioned for her to go ahead and say it. After a deep breath, Erica began to speak again.

"Remember when I told you that this happened before with my ex-boyfriend? Well there's more to the story…" She looked upset for a second but she shrugged it off. "Even though he got out with a few other people, strange things started to happen afterwards. He felt the way you feel right now…"

Miguel got slightly excited to hear that he wasn't alone. Someone else knew what he was going through and he hoped everything would now become clearer. "So then he can help us figure this out then, right? Is there a way to have him come meet us? Where is he now?" All these questions seemed to drive a dagger deeper and deeper into Erica's heart. She looked up and blinked quickly several times, pushing her tears back.

"Well, that's the thing. He can't help us…because he'd dead."

Miguel's jaw dropped once Erica spoke. Dead? The one person who could talk him through this feeling and possibly help him get past it was gone. He looked down, heavily discouraged. Erica continued to speak.

"You see, everybody that survived started to die in random accidents. Only they turned out not to be so random. Peter believed that Death itself was hunting them. It was making sure that they all died like they were supposed to. There's a possibility that it might happen again."

Miguel stared at her. 'Did she just tell me that we might die anyways? No. No fucking way.' He started to stand up. This was bullshit. There was no way in hell that she was being serious. But then he thought about it. What if she was right? What if she was right and he didn't believe her just like all those people who didn't believe her ex-boyfriend? He would end up dead like all of them. He looked at her face and searched for any falsehood. She seemed one hundred percent serious. He sighed and sat back down, deciding to find out more.

"So then what now? We die?", he asked. Erica shook her head before giving him an answer.

"No. There is a way to beat it. You see, everybody died in the order that they would have if they had stayed in the club that night. So if, God forbid, it should happen to us, we'd die in the order we would've on the bus. But if we can intervene and save each other from being killed, Death will skip us and move on to whoever's next. If we intervene everyone, then Death should leave us alone."

Miguel did his best to comprehend all of this. It was complicated and it felt like a bad dream. But he knew that it wasn't. "Okay.", he began, "So then I should write down the order in which we were meant to die?"

Erica nodded, handing him a piece of paper and a pen from her purse. He thought back to his premonition and started to write down the order. After he finished, he handed it to Erica. "So now what?", he asked. Erica quickly scanned the list and looked back to him.

"So we have to find out where Anthony is. He's the first one." Suddenly, a question came into her mind. "Hey besides us; Karin, Travis, Darryl, the bus driver, and the rest were on this list. What about Suzi?" She had asked because she noticed that his friend's name was not on the list, but she too had survived. Miguel realized what she meant.

"Oh. Well in my vision, she didn't die. She crawled out of the bus before it fell. I was the last person to die." After he finished speaking, he noticed Erica exhaling in relief.

"That's one less person to worry about.", she said. Building up her confidence, she spoke again with determination. "If this happens again, we'll beat it."

--

Rebecca sat with Jeanne's parents on a bench just outside the police station. They'd been here all night after Patrick died. Given the fact that Jeanne was fighting with him right before he died, the police were wondering if she had killed him in anger. However, after hours of interrogation, they ruled it off as a freak accident. Forensics determined that she didn't shoot him with the crossbow. The way it lay on the ground showed a direct trajectory path to where Patrick was impaled. It had indeed fallen and accidentally fired itself. While they were baffled as to how this accident happened, Jeanne was even more confused.

She was there. She saw everything fall on its own. All last night, she considered the possibility of ghosts living in her basement. Maybe in some weird way, they were protecting her. In either case, she was terrified of her basement now. She didn't even want to go home. After retrieving her purse from the police, she walked outside and sighed. Rebecca looked over and saw her. Without a word, she stood up and walked over to her friend, embracing her. Jeanne's parents followed.

"Are you okay?", Rebecca asked. Jeanne had been crying all night, and it showed. However, right now she wasn't. There were no more tears left to cry. She simply nodded as she hugged her parents.

"Let's get you home.", they said. As soon as they turned towards the car, Jeanne stopped. She didn't want to go home now, not after everything that had happened last night.

"I don't think I can.", she stated. Rebecca reached out for her arm and sighed. She didn't know what to say. Before she could think of anything, Jeanne spoke to her. "Can we just go to work?"

"Are…are you sure that's best right now? If something goes wrong, you're going to be in hot water. Are you sure you can handle it?"

"Yeah. I can't go home. I have to go somewhere else and do something productive with my time for now. Please?" Her parents gave each other a brief glance before nodding.

"You call us if you want to come home. We'll come and pick you up in a flash."

--

It was close to two o'clock in the afternoon now. Miguel was waiting for Suzi to come by his house again. Earlier, Erica had left to ask a friend about the list that Miguel had given her. He didn't know who this friend was, but she said that he might be able to help them out. Miguel certainly hoped so. That cold feeling remained with him, even now. Although it still frightened him, the feeling wasn't as strong as yesterday or the day before. Looking to a picture of his brother, he closed his eyes and prayed that everything would somehow return to normal; whatever 'normal' was now.

--

Elsewhere, Erica reviewed the list in her hand. Although she hid it well, she was extremely worried at the thought that more of her friends would die. Then, she'd die too. She already lost a handful of good friends with last year's club incident, she lost Karin the other night, and now Kim and Lavi's lives were in possible danger, along with her own. She also cared about Miguel and Jeanne, people that she's just now really started to get to know better. To her, a life was a life. She cared about everyone on this list in some way or another.

She'd talked to her friend earlier. Later on that night, she was going to meet up with him to talk about what happened. She planned on taking Miguel with her as well. Hopefully with her friend's help, they'd solve this complicated riddle. She sat in her car, thinking of what to do next. She thought about calling Jeanne to see how she was doing. Taking out her cell phone, she sifted to the last group of recent numbers. They were Jeanne's, Rebecca's, and Patrick's. Suddenly, Patrick's number vanished right before her eyes.

"What the hell?" She wondered if her phone was broken or something. However, nothing was wrong with it at all. 'That's weird, since when do phones delete numbers on their own?' Something felt a little off. Before she could do anything, it rang. Jeanne's name lit up across the caller I.D. screen. Picking it up, she greeted her classmate. "Hey Jeanne, I was just thinking about you. How're things going?"

"Well…not too good."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Umm…well last night, Patrick died.", said Jeanne with a slight shake in her tone. Erica's heart sank to her stomach. Quickly, she pulled out the list and saw that Patrick was supposed to be the third in line to die. This didn't add up though because first came Anthony and then came Kyle. They couldn't both be dead already.

"Oh my god, that's terrible. What happened?", she asked. Jeanne cleared her throat before she continued to speak.

"We were having that fight yesterday and then we went into my basement. Things just got worse from there and somehow the next thing I knew, he was dead…it all happened so fast."

"…Okay, maybe it's best we don't talk about that right now. You just need to do your best to feel better. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"No. But thank you for the offer. I couldn't go back home so me and Rebecca went to work. I'm just taking a quick break right now. It's my first day back to work today and wouldn't you know that we've got a customer birthday later? I've got to make the cake in a bit. This really sucks."

"Well at least it's something to distract you for now.", said Erica in reply.

"Yeah, you're right. Well, I'm going to go back to work; I just wanted to let you know."

"Thank you for calling me. Please feel better too. Call me whenever you want, okay?"

"Okay Erica. Thanks again. I'll talk to you later." With that said, Jeanne hung up her phone and headed back inside the restaurant. She tied her long brown hair into a ponytail and fastened her apron. Once she got back into the kitchen, she saw Rebecca, who was arguing with their boss.

"Ron for real now, I'm not good at making cakes.", said Rebecca as she poured water into a large pot and set it on the stovetop. "Oh goddamn. Where is the spaghetti?"

"The spaghetti is in the lower cabinet over there. And don't worry about the cake, I'm on it.", said Jeanne. Ron and Rebecca spun around, having just realized that she was present again. They stopped arguing right away and put on fake smiles for her. Ron plugged a toaster into an outlet next to the stove. He accidentally, bumped into the pot rack against the wall, making all the pots and materials rattle on it.

"Hey watch it!", Jeanne yelled as she pulled him back away from it. Ron looked up to see that a set of knives had nearly fallen off the rack towards Rebecca. Rebecca chuckled at him as Jeanne reached up and pushed the knives back.

"Gotta be more careful.", said Rebecca in a mocking voice. Ron laughed it off and thanked Jeanne before leaving to check on the customers outside. The other kitchen employees remained quiet, continuing to cook their meals. Jeanne and Rebecca didn't really know any of them because they were all hired after the two left last year. Jeanne started on the cake as Rebecca placed the spaghetti next to the large pot of water, waiting for it to boil.

"So Jeanne, is work doing the charm so far?"

"No, I still feel shitty. But here, I don't think about things as much." Jeanne cracked an egg and dropped it into her cake bowl. Knowing she was down, Rebecca came over and gave her a brief hug before looking over the next order. She then put the small piece of paper on the stainless steel countertop and looked around for the hamburger buns.

"Damn, I swear I can't remember where half these things are anymore.", she said. Jeanne looked up and smiled at her.

"Ron did move the setup around a bit; don't be too hard on yourself."

"Jeanne, you're already on your way to Employee of the Month again." The two friends laughed together again.

"Well what can I say? I guess I just know my way around the kitchen."

"Uh huh well, I just might leave this job all to you.", said Rebecca in a playful manner. Jeanne nudged her slightly with a smile on her face.

"If you left me here all by myself, I'd be shocked." The two girls got back to work, trying to keep the past few days' events in the back of their minds.

--

Back in New York, Erica sat at a red light. The more she thought about it, the more she started to think that they might all possibly be safe. Patrick's death was out of order with the list and it seemed like it was just an unfortunate accident. Maybe they really were going to be okay. 'Thank God.', she thought. She was heading to Miguel's house to tell him about Patrick. She would have called, but she wanted to tell him in person. But now that she felt they were safe, she was sure that he would be put at ease by her theory. She smiled to herself and turned up the radio. That's when she noticed that the light was still red.

"What is it broken?" Looking around the street, she saw that nobody was coming. Shrugging, she took the light and continued on to Miguel's house. The very second that she made her turn off of the street, the light suddenly turned green.

--

Suzi pulled up to Miguel's house. She wanted to check up on him to see how he was doing. Since she was his best friend, she knew him better than anyone else did. He held in most of his emotions and she knew that. Snapping out of her thoughts, she opened her car door and stepped out. She tossed her long black hair over her shoulders and sipped her coffee while glancing down at the newspaper in her hand, while holding another coffee for Miguel in the other hand.

Inside, Miguel sat on his bed with his laptop. He was on his school's website looking up everyone's e-mail addressed from his class. He didn't know why, but something was telling him to keep them in contact. He copied everybody's e-mail address that got off the bus the other night. He heard the doorbell ring downstairs. His father yelled out that he would answer it. Suddenly, his computer froze. At first, he thought it was a glitch or something, but then he realized that it was frozen on a name. He saw that the computer screen just said, 'Rebecca Irene Pierce'. He remembered her on the bus and he remembered her in class. They didn't talk all that often but they were friendly with each other.

…

His eyes widened slowly. Something was wrong. It was really subtle at first, but as he continued to stare at her highlighted name, he realized that her initials spelled R.I.P., as if she was dead and buried already…There was a knock on his door and Suzi peeked through.

"Hi Miguel!", she said as she came in. Quickly, he closed the laptop and put it away.

"Hey Suzi. What's up?"

"Just wanted to see how you were doing. I brought you coffee.", she said cheerfully as she handed it to him. He forced a smile and thanked her. Once she sat on his bed, he noticed that she was holding a newspaper.

"Oh yeah. I was going to tell you. Did you know that Anthony Griggs and Kyle Rosenburg died yesterday?"

"…What?"

"Yeah I know, it's so weird. I kinda had a crush on Anthony and suddenly, it's like-"

"Let me see!", yelled Miguel as he interrupted her and yanked the paper out of her hand. He started to read the article, his eyes widening upon finding out that the two deaths happened around the same time that he started feeling sick yesterday.

"I…I thought you didn't talk to them?", asked Suzi. As far as she knew, Miguel didn't talk to Anthony and he hated Kyle. Why would he be so upset over them? Miguel panicked and dropped the newspaper, walking over to his desk and looking at the list again. Just as he thought, Anthony and Kyle were the first to die on this list. Patrick was next.

"Erica was right…", he mumbled.

"Right about what? Miguel? Miguel? What's wrong?" In all the years that she's known him, Suzi had never seen him look so scared than he did in the past few days. That's when she knew that he was hiding something from her. "Miguel. Tell me, what's going on?"

Before he could answer her, he saw Erica pull up to his house. Grabbing the list, he turned towards his door. He didn't even make it a step closer to his door. He collapsed on the floor, feeling heavy and as if he'd lost his balance completely. The coffee in his hand spilled all over the ground in front of him, sizzling slightly on the carpet.

"Miguel!!", yelled Suzi as she rushed to his side and helped him back up. Something was seriously wrong.

"Suzi, I can't explain this right now, I have to talk to Erica!" Regaining his balance, he ran out the door and down the stairs. Outside, Erica jumped back in shock as Miguel stormed through the front door just as she was about to knock on it.

"Erica!", he yelled. "Anthony and Kyle are dead!" Once he said that, he pointed the names on the list. Erica's heart sank. Feeling a possible feinting spell, she dropped her purse and fell to her knees.

"Miguel," she started, "Jeanne told me that Patrick died last night…" Was this really happening? Erica closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She wanted so badly to wake up; she wanted so badly for this all just to be another crazy nightmare. She wished she'd wake up and find out that Anthony, Kyle, and Patrick were just fine and that Karin was on her way over to cheer her up. But this was no nightmare; it was just another harsh reality.

"Erica.", said Miguel as he helped her stand again. "That means that Rebecca is next. Do you have her number?" Just then, Suzi came outside with a worried look on her face. Erica snapped out of it and dialed Rebecca's number. This was no time to be slow.

--

Rebecca placed some bread into the toaster next to the stove and patted Jeanne on the back. "I'll be back in a few, I'm just going to take a quick break."

"Okay, hurry back.", said Jeanne in response as she took her finished cake out of the oven. After giving a quick thumbs up, Rebecca headed out the back door and into the employee parking lot. She wiped the sweat off her beautiful black face and took a dollar out from her bra. She was feeling thirsty and there was a vending machine along the wall. She wanted a cherry soda and even though she could've just gotten some from the restaurant, she always liked to drink it out of a can. Walking over to the vending machine, she inserted the dollar and pressed the button for the cherry soda. She heard it start to move, but then it stopped. A few more seconds passed by and still the soda did not fall into the slot.

"Damn it." It must have been stuck. Getting aggravated, she kicked the machine firmly but still, she had no luck. Her phone started to ring just then. After another kick, she picked up the phone and kicked the machine again. "Hello?"

"Rebecca!", yelled Erica.

"Who is this?", asked Rebecca before she elbowed the machine.

"Rebecca, it's Erica."

"Oh hey! Y'all got back home all right?" She rammed her shoulder against the machine, causing it to wobble slightly.

"Rebecca, listen to me. Are you in any danger?"

Rebecca raised a brow in wonder. "Uh no, unless you consider having a vending machine eat my money dangerous." She laughed slightly as she knelt down and reached her arm up into the slot of the machine.

"Rebecca, I know that this is going to sound crazy, but you need to get to a safe place right now!", said Erica in a pleading yet commanding tone.

"What?", asked Rebecca. She could feel the can and in frustration, she rammed her side against the machine. To her surprise, she felt the machine tilt over slowly. Her left arm still in the machine's slot, she dropped her cell phone and screamed once she saw the heavy object falling over. Her scream was cut short once her left arm popped out of its socket, the vending machine landing on her back and forcing her arm to break and fold across it as she lay on her stomach. Her head was crushed between the edge of the heavy machine and the pavement below. Blood leaked out of her nostrils and left shoulder, where her arm had fully torn off. Her right eye had popped out of its socket as well; the only thing connecting it to her face was the optical nerves.

Just then, the can of cherry soda fell out of the vending machine's slot and rolled over to her open mouth. The can, bent and twisted, started to spray the soda into her mouth. After a moment of silence, the words 'Thank You' traveled across the machine's menu screen. She got her drink, but unfortunately for Rebecca, it was too late for her to enjoy it.

"Rebecca? Rebecca?!" When Erica realized that it was too late, the phone went dead. Slowly, she lowered the phone and looked at Miguel. Once they made eye contact, Miguel knew what she was going to say. He closed his eyes and cursed to himself when suddenly, he saw an image in his mind. He was in some sort of large room that resembled a kitchen. The smell of cake invaded his nostrils as he heard screams from behind him. He turned to see someone holding a cake in their hands and dropping it to the ground. When he opened his eyes, he was on the ground with his back against the wall of his house staring up at Erica and Suzi.

"Are you okay?", asked Suzi.

"Did you have another vision??", said Erica in surprise. Suzi looked lost as she did not know what was happening to her friend.

"I…I saw someone holding a cake…", Miguel said. Erica knelt down to him and grabbed him by the shoulders, prompting him to focus.

"Where did you see this?"

"I think…I was in a kitchen or something." Once Miguel spoke, Erica's eyes widened. She thought back to her conversation with Jeanne earlier. She remembered that she told her she was working and that she had to make a cake for a customer's birthday…

"Jeanne. We have to warn Jeanne…", said Erica as she stood up and dialed her number.

--

Jeanne's phone started to play its ring tone, Living Dead Girl by Rob Zombie. However, Jeanne was not around to answer it since she had left it in her locker in the changing room. Back inside the kitchen, Jeanne finished icing the cake that she made. She was just about to bring it out to the customer's table when she realized that Rebecca had left her order unfinished. With a sigh of frustration, she held the cake in one hand and picked up the order slip off the countertop with the other. It was an order for a hamburger.

"Where the hell is she?", Jeanne asked herself. Putting the order slip down, she saw the pot of water was boiling on the stove and the spaghetti was still not in it. Before she could say anything, Ron ran past her with a few other employees to the back door. Once they were outside, Jeanne could hear them screaming. She turned to see what was going on when suddenly, a cold breeze brushed across her face. Automatically, she remembered that she felt the same breeze last night right before Patrick died. In fear, she dropped the cake to the floor and took a step back.

"Oh god…", she managed to whisper. Her back pressed against the toaster on the countertop before the bread came popping out from it. Startled, Jeanne let out a scream and jumped. Her right foot landed in the cake on the ground and she fell back. She crashed violently against the base of the stove, hitting the pot rack as well. Her sudden impact made the rack move abruptly, the various pots shaking and falling to the countertop and stove below. The set of knives from earlier toppled off the rack, cutting the wire that was plugged into the wall from the toaster with a sudden spark. Jeanne looked up as a heavy frying pan fell onto the stove above her, knocking the large pot of boiling water over. She didn't even know what happened when she felt it at first.

The boiling water spilled down onto her face and head, burning her severely. The skin on her face practically melted off with the bubbling water, pieces of skin from her forehead and cheeks peeling off in layers. She let out a scream so intense, that the whole restaurant heard it. She could basically feel her entire face sliding off and the sudden putrid smell of freshly made eggs emitted from her skin. Partially blinded by skin folding over her eyelids, Jeanne tried to stand up, hands groping about for something to grab onto. While continuing to scream, she grabbed hold of the stainless steel countertop behind her and used it to pull herself off the floor. As soon as her wet hand touched the metal surface, the severed wire from the toaster landed on it. She began to get electrocuted from the electricity, sparks consuming her entire body while she convulsed wildly.

After the sizzling sounds of voltage died down, Jeanne's steaming and burnt corpse collapsed to the floor again. Once beautiful, she wasn't even recognizable as a person anymore. Smoke rising off her, the hamburger order slip that Rebecca left on the countertop earlier fluttered down onto Jeanne's body. Ironically, the order was for a burger to be cooked 'well done'.

--

Miguel and Erica sat in silence. They weren't exactly sure how, but they knew that Jeanne was dead too. Suzi watched them huddled in sadness and she desperately wanted to know what was going on. But somehow, she couldn't find the words and courage to ask again. Erica stood up and shook away the tears in her eyes. Even though she never let a tear fall, she refocused herself. There was no point in crying now. Quite frankly, she was getting tired of losing friends to Death.

"Let's go.", she said. Miguel stood up and followed her before asking a question.

"Where are we going?"

"We're meeting a friend that might be able to help us out." That was all Erica said as she walked away and into her car. Miguel turned to Suzi, who looked more confused than before.

"Suzi. I'll explain when I have the chance. Just trust me when I say that there's nothing you can do to help me right now. Just be yourself. That will help me. I'll be back tonight okay?", he said before leaving with Erica. Suzi stood still, turning around to see Miguel's parents coming outside. Shaking away her fears, she smiled and walked up to them.

"Miguel had to do something, but he'll be back. In the meantime, how does dinner sound? I can make stir fry this time." Suzi smiled cheerfully, getting their attention away from Miguel for now. With a nod of thanks, Miguel's father agreed.

"Thank you Suzi. Please let me see how you make it.", said Miguel's mother. Suzi began to chat with her while they went inside. Before Miguel's father could close the front door, he looked out to the street and sighed. He hoped that his son would indeed be back soon.


End file.
